Returning To The Start
by Akanesi
Summary: It is a great tragedy, to be destroyed from the inside out, by the things you have done. No one is blaming you for them, no one even knows they are there, but the small voice in the back of your head is raging. It is making you feel guilt. It is tearing you down and setting you aflame.
1. Plan C

The Master was pulled roughly through the prison corridors. He didn't like this place. It reminded him too much of the time the humans captured him, of imprisonment, of not being able to move.

The two guards clicked his handcuffs off and threw him into one of the cells lining the walls, keying in the door combination. There were ten cells altogether, five on each side, a bed covering the back walls, and a solid row of bars running the length of the room.

The Master pulled himself to his feet, watching the guards' retreating backs. Plan B had fallen apart, or was so close to going down the drain that the difference wasn't worth mentioning. And while he had every confidence in Plan C, he didn't like putting his life in the hands of those he didn't control.

The Master crossed to the bars of his cell, inwardly sneering at the stupidity of the humans that had taken the handcuffs off. He reached through the bars, twisting his hand around in a way that would have surely broken it if he'd been human, and began keying in the hundreds of different combinations that could open the door.

He was in the fourth cell on the left, facing away from the door, and therefore didn't see the door opening, or the figure that came through it, until a baton came down hard on his hand.

He let out an involuntary yelp, and retrieved his broken hand, cradling it to his chest. Looking up, he saw the man with the baton was an aged Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart, wearing a satisfied expression on his face.

"Well, well, well," the Master crooned. "How are you… old chap? Haven't seen you in… ooh, must be a few hundred years."

"And I hope you're close to dying," the Brigadier retorted.

The Master clapped his good hand against his chest. "You wound me, Briggy. Though…" He lifted his mangled hand. "I could have done without this." He glanced up, right into the Brigadier's eyes, before wrapping his good hand around his broken one, and wrenching it back into place. "Aren't I full of surprises?" He danced closer to the bars, leaning against them, and took great amusement in the fact that the Brigadier moved backwards.

"You will be taken to a high security facility," the Brigadier began, but the Master interrupted him.

"No. Don't think so."

The Brigadier narrowed his eyes. "Your guards are now on our side. Your soldiers are gone. Your wife is in custody."

The Master waited, as if expecting more but, when it didn't come, shrugged noncommittally. "Were you on the Valliant? No. Were you killed the second the glorious Toclofane set flight upon this miserable planet? Yes. You don't have a clue what happened in that year. All you know is what the Freak told you, and I made sure he never had a good view." The Master laughed. "What do you know? Nothing."

"I know everything. I believe I'm repeating myself when I say we have your wife in custody."

The Master narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the Brigadier. A second later though, he was smiling again, shaking his head. "She hasn't told you anything."

"And why?" the Brigadier challenged him.

"Because…" A maniac grin appeared. "You didn't come in here with the anger in your eyes that 1. You failed, and 2. I just killed an innocent human. Pick whichever one causes you the most embarrassment."

Now it was the Brigadier's turn to look unsure. Before either of them could say anything more, though, there was a clattering at the door, and shouting could be heard from behind it.

The Brigadier glanced warily at the Master, who put up his hands, looking for all the world like he was innocent in all of this. "Not me, guv."

Another second and the door burst open, revealing two very flustered guards and an irate Sarah Jane Smith.

"Brigadier." Sarah Jane marched into the room, through the two guards, who were looking desperately at the Brigadier. "What happened?" she continued. "Where's the Doctor?"

"Ahem," the Master coughed roughly. When neither of them seemed to hear him, he tapped the bars of his cell. "Hello! Am I invisible?"

Sarah Jane seemed to notice him for the first time, and gave him a look of barely disguised hostility.

The Master raised his eyebrows. "No one likes me today. Why? What have I done wrong?"

Sarah Jane took a deep breath, and turned back to the Brigadier. Before she could get anything more out, however, there was yet more commotion from behind the door, a weary "man, it's busy today" from the Master, and a teenage boy shot into the room.

The boy was followed by two more guards, who skittered backwards when the boy hid behind Sarah Jane. The Master found this quite funny. This really wasn't the time to let his amusement show though, as he could feel Plan C drawing closer.

The guards, after glancing at the Brigadier, backed out of the room, keeping a wary eye on Sarah Jane. The Master felt a tug on his mind, and glanced quickly around the room. After a moment, he moved to the end of his cell, the one nearest to the door, and frowned at the boy.

"Didn't think UNIT were into kids."

Sarah Jane turned towards the cell, and looked ready to launch herself at the Master, but the Brigadier caught her arm. "You've got to get him out of here, Miss Smith."

"Why?" Sarah Jane was still staring at the Master, and therefore saw him speak his next words.

"They're going to kill me." He raised his eyebrows at the Brigadier, as their gazes met. "Am I right, or am I right? Well…" he leaned causally against the bars again. "What would your precious Doctor have to say about _that_ if he knew?"

The Brigadier was looking decidedly uncomfortable, but Sarah Jane's mouth was set in a hard line. From behind her, the boy who had entered the room spoke. "Why does he deserve to die?"

"Luke!" Sarah Jane turned, ushering the boy towards the door.

Just before the door was shut, the Master called after the boy called Luke. "I'm the sworn enemy of mankind, have killed countless millions of you, and only recently took over your entire planet and turned you all into slaves." He looked back at the Brigadier. "Now… if that's not a reason for the return of capital punishment, then I don't know what is!"


	2. Betrayed

**Author's Note: **Here's chapter 2. I'm still recovering from yesterday's episode so I'll only be posting one of the five or six chapters I've written. This was finished _before _the Christmas episode, which I recommend everyone watches if they haven't. Happy Christmas!

* * *

"So…" the Master attempted to make conversation. "…who's gonna kill me then? Or are you just gonna have a firing squad, and whoever's unlucky today gets the kill shot in."

"I think you mean 'lucky'," Sarah Jane pointed out.

"Nah. Whoever kills me will have hell unleashed upon them."

"What do you mean?" The Brigadier stepped forward, watching warily as the Master pulled himself up from where he'd been lying on the bed in his cell.

"You don't know Time Lords very well, do you?"

The Brigadier frowned. "What are Time Lords?"

"Time Lords is the name of the race the Doctor and he come from," Sarah Jane answered.

The Master clapped his hands together, mocking her. "Well, well, well. Points go to Miss Smith in the front row. Though I presume it's Mrs Smith now, looking at young Luke." A flash of warning shot through Sarah Jane's eyes. "Though with young people nowadays…" the Master rolled his eyes at the Brigadier. "…you never really know, do you?"

"What do you mean 'hell'?" the Brigadier asked.

The Master paused, feigning shock. "Wow, don't bother to chip in about what we're discussing _at the moment_."

"What. Do. You. Mean?"

"Is that meant to be scary?"

The Brigadier took and step forward, trying his best to look menacing. The effect was rather spoilt, however, by the lack of hair. "I can easily have your execution moved forward."

"How would that help anyone?" The Master seemed genuinely nonplussed. "Time Lords have time machines, as you well know."

"Who's going to rescue _you_?"

The Master decided that his time would be better spent arguing the point, so ignored the scathing use of the word 'you'. "Has he told you?" He glanced back and forth between Sarah Jane and the Brigadier.

"Has he told us what?"

"Hmm." The Master seemed to consider something. "I wonder whether I should reveal his most important secret now or…" he returned his attention back to them. "…would you prefer an email?"

Sarah Jane opened her mouth to reply, but just before she could, a thunder clap rang out through the room. Sarah Jane leaped to her feet. "What's that?"

"I don't know." The Brigadier spoke hurriedly into his radio. After a moment, "Miss Smith, I suggest you evacuate yourself from the premises."

"Hah! Not likely!"

"Miss Smith, you have a child to think of!"

For a moment, Sarah Jane looked as if she would continue to argue, but then she turned and ran from the room. The Master called after her. "Take good care of your hybrid freak, won't you?"

The Brigadier stepped forward, rapping his baton against the bars. "Quiet!"

The Master shrugged. "Not that I really care about you, but he would… be unhappy if you died, and I hate it when he pouts." The Master grinned. "I suggest moving to your left slightly. Otherwise you might become force shield gloop."

The Brigadierfrowned, retort ready, when the unmistakable rasp of the TARDIS cut through the air. He moved automatically away from the noise, in the same direction the Master had suggested.

A few seconds later a large blue police box solidified in the space between the end cells. The Brigadier turned away briefly to assure the two guards that had rushed in that everything was all right, and to wait outside. When he turned back, he found the TARDIS door open, and the Doctor standing in front of him. Of course, he presumed it was the Doctor, as he hadn't seen him in this regeneration before.

"Brigadier." The Doctor inclined his head.

"Doctor." He was already running through sets of possibilities that would allow him not to piss off the Doctor, but still execute the Master like the common criminal he was.

"I, um…" the Doctor waved a hand at the Master. "I would like to take that, if you please."

"Ahem!" The Master coughed loudly. The Brigadier turned towards him automatically. The Doctor ignored him. "I am _not _a 'that'… if you please!"

The Doctor gave a sigh, pulled his sonic screwdriver from the depths of his coat, and began to wave it at the lock of the cell door the Master was in.

"Doctor." The Brigadier reached out a hand to stop him, then thought better of it. "I must protest. This man is a criminal, and should be treated as such."

"Oh, he will," the Doctor assured him. "Only on my terms. He's my responsibility."

"He wasn't before, if I remember rightly. You allowed us to lock him up once."

"One…" The Doctor turned to the Brigadier, abandoning the door. "…don't try to make me feel guilty. I get enough of that from him." He jabbed a thumb in the Master's direction, which was met with a "yup", before the Doctor continued. "Two: yeah, I let you lock him up, but this time you want to kill him, and he's already wasted one set of regenerations because of my mistakes, and he's not about to waste another. Three: he'll be better contained with me, anyway." He turned back to the door lock. "But please, feel free to make counter points."

The Brigadier shifted uncomfortably. He didn't like the way this was going, or the way the Doctor was acting.

"Why don't you just let us kill him?" he offered weakly. He saw the Doctor's eyes darken.

"Because he's _my _responsibility. He's _not _a human, and shouldn't be treated as such."

"Are you too good for us?" The question was half meant as a joke, but the Brigadier was unprepared for the Doctor's reply.

"Yeah, we are."

"Hah!" The Master waved a finger at the Brigadier. "That showed you!"

The lock clicked open, and the Master bounded out. "Arh! Freedom! Taste that fresh air!" He took an exaggerated sniff. "Oh yeah!"

"In." The Doctor jabbed a finger towards the TARDIS. The Master went without complaint. "And don't think you can fly off," the Doctor called after him. "I've locked all the controls to isomorphic settings."

"Doctor." The Brigadier shook his head. "Why?"

"Because he's my own." The Doctor was suddenly serious. "I forgot that once. But never again. We're the only two left, and he's my only tie to Home. I won't allow him to be killed."

The Brigadier was too angry to take in the significance of these comments. "You're letting a mass murderer loose!"

"No." The Doctor looked back at the TARDIS. "I'll make sure he never kills again." He turned back to the Brigadier. "I promise. But I couldn't let you kill him, or lock him up. I know what it's like to be caged, and I wouldn't wish that on anyone."

He turned slowly, clapping a hand on the Brigadier's shoulder. "I might not be around for a while, all right, old chap. But I won't forget this planet."

"Aren't you going to help us?" the Brigadier asked, as the Doctor turned away. "After everything that's happened, who do we trust?"

"Jack and Martha," the Doctor called over his shoulder.

"Doctor, wait." The Brigadier tried to take a step forward, to the place he'd been standing before he'd heard the TARDIS, but something forced him back. He looked up to see the Doctor looking at him from the TARDIS doorway.

"Sorry," the Doctor said. "Force shield. Should dissipate in an hour or two, but I couldn't risk it." He smiled slightly. "As I said, Jack and Martha. They've been through a lot, but they remember the year, and know what to do. Also… Torchwood, but always go though Jack when it comes to them."

"What about our government? The world's in chaos."

"The world'll sort itself out. Always does." The Doctor grinned. "You should return to UNIT for a bit. Make sure everything's running smoothly. Martha's one hell of a doctor herself, so it can't hurt to hire her." He shrugged. "And…" He bit his lip. "You know your grandchildren?"

"Ben and Rachael?"

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "Next month, take them out of town. That old cabin down by the moors is nice this time of year. Take them on a holiday. Make them feel loved. It'd do you good to be cut off from the world after all that's gonna come your way soon."

The Brigadier nodded dumbly, watching as the Doctor smiled one final time, before disappearing inside the TARDIS, which itself soon faded from view.

* * *

As the Doctor came through the TARDIS doors, the Master grinned at him. "Thanks for the save." He clapped the Doctor on the shoulder, who offered a small smile in return, before moving around the console. "So…" The Master bounced on the balls of his feet. "Where do you drop me off?"

The Doctor looked up, a sad expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Koschei. But I don't."

The silence in the control room lasted just under a week.


	3. Breaking A Promise

**Author's Note:** Thank you to everyone who's read this so far! You're great! Along with this 3rd chapter, I've just posted another story, called "Insurance Policy", which is my take on what the drums _really are_. Here's the link (you need to add fan_fiction (without the underline) onto the front of it for it to work), and I'd love feedback on it:

.net/s/5620298/1/Insurance_Policy

* * *

The Doctor's POV:

You're standing across the console, leveling me with your stare. This regeneration was never one to keep his feelings hidden, and I can see every bit of anger, of pain, of pure hatred that masks itself into your face.

What do you see when you look at me? What are you thinking?

I've taken you aboard my home, despite her reservations. I've saved you from humans who would have killed you or, worse, locked you away. I know what it's like to be trapped, an animal in a zoo for the humans' amusement; to be played with and taunted. THEY trapped me, and the humans are no different. They could easily become THEM.

Don't you understand that I've given up my freedom for you? I can no longer run through the universe, righting wrongs and saving lives. You're the one who's trapped me here, and I don't hate you for that. Not at all. Don't you see that?

* * *

It's been four days since the Valliant, and you're still standing there, unmoving. We don't need sleep, and I don't want to leave you alone with my girl. You might hurt her again.

What do you see when you look at me? What are you thinking?

I'm sorry if you feel like a prisoner. I truly am. But it's better that… that you hate me. The alternative is that more innocent people die, and I don't want that.

We were friends a long time ago. I think you remember. At least… I hope you do. Because that's what I rely on to stop you. There's got to be a little voice in your head that whispers to you about the times when we were young, and planned our paths across the stars. There has to be a way for that voice to emerge from the mass of four-beat drums that march around your head, day and night. There has to be a little bit of Koschei left in this mass of swirling madness. There has to be.

"Tell me what you want me to do?"

"Free me."

"I'm sorry."

* * *

It's been a week now. You moved an hour ago, removing yourself from the console room, and me from your thoughts. You're going to sulk now. You used to hate it when I called it sulking. Do you remember how you shouted at me the first time we got into an argument? You were so funny afterwards. You wouldn't even look at me, though every fiber of your being was screaming at me to notice you.

You avoid me all the time, moving through the TARDIS in such a way that I can never find you. She does her best, guiding me down the endless corridors, trailing you. But you know her almost as well as me, and continue to evade me.

You're like me, aren't you? You're scared of being tied to one place, in one time, and I'm doing that to you. The pain isn't anything new though. I've suffered far worse than the pain of putting you in chains, and you know that, or you would be bending me right now, seeing how far it took for me to snap.

You're scared of being stuck. You're scared of being alone. You're scared of being powerless. Hell, you're scared of power. You're scared of what would happen if you did gain power. There would be nothing left to fight for then. There's no one left to stop us now, don't you see? There isn't any point of fighting.

"Master?" You're sitting on one of the observation decks, gazing out at the stars, the longing emanating from you.

"…"

There's no response, so I ask again. "Master?"

"…"

Why don't you answer me? Why do you hate me?

* * *

It's been two weeks, and your need for companionship means you talk to me once again. But all you do is talk of freedom, of planets that I've never seen, of sights that I would love to see, but never can with you on board.

I try to talk of little things; things that don't matter and wouldn't lead to anything, but you always come back to the waterfalls of Vuri, or the twelve suns of Helix 44. You won't let me have one minute alone in your presence where you don't remind me what I'm doing.

Finally, my silence must tell you that I'm not going to be riled and you grudgingly fall into silence. You've already tested whether the controls are really locked on isomorphic, and the TARDIS dislikes you too much to offer you entertainment. The only form of that you have is me.

* * *

"Why did you lie to me?"

I look up. I'm standing over the control console, fixing something that I should have fixed eons ago. You're standing in the doorway to the rest of the ship, leaning against the door frame.

"If you're trying to make me feel guilty, it's not going to work." But it does, and you know it.

"Why did you lie to me?" you repeat the question, like a child who's always asking why.

"I didn't."

You laugh. It's not a nice laugh. "No, you didn't. You just 'led me on'!"

"Master--"

"No!" You shoot into the room fully. I move slightly, keeping the console in between us. "You said that I'd be free."

"And you are."

You pause, a questioning look on your face. When you realize what I mean you scoff. "I don't want freedom here." You wave a hand at the TARDIS. "I want freedom out there." You point towards the scanner, which shows stars. "How can you imprison me when you know what's it like?"

I return to the fixing of the console. "I'm sorry."

"Is that all you can say?"

"I'm sorry."

"Arh!" You lash out, kicking one of the coral struts. I'm there at once, checking over the support. "Oh! It's nice to know where your priorities are!" I turn to see you on one foot, holding the other. The urge to laugh is overwhelming, but I somehow think that this isn't the best time.

"Are you all right?" I reach out a hand, only to find you growling at me.

"I don't need your pity," you spit.

"Fine." I cross my arms. "Don't kick my ship."

You snigger.

"What?"

"Thought you were gonna say 'don't kick my baby' for a second."

I bristled. "Do you want the roof to come down on our heads?"

You grin suddenly. "Will it help me get out?"

I sigh and turn away. It always comes back to that, and probably always will.

"What?" you say, overly loud in the confined space. "You hand these opportunities to me on a silver platter and expect me not to take them?"

Why do you do this, I wonder? Yes, I lied to you. I promised you that your plan to take over the earth would fail, and I had a backup plan. I promised that if you could find out my plan I would let you rule the Universe. You had a year, and you didn't. I also promised that if I won I would let you go. I broke that last one.


	4. Innocent

**Author's Note: **As all of the people who have reviewed, favourited, or alerted my story know, I like to reply to all these things with a little thank you as a show of appreciation. I've always thought that if you could take the time to read and do whatever to my story, then I could damn well find the time to say thanks.

So thank you to **bowfin**, who put this story on alert, and **Tigress**, who reviewed my other story, "Insurance Policy". I couldn't thank them through a PM because they have the feature turned off, so I thank them here. Thanks!

Happy New Year, everyone. Hope you like this chapter, and the episode that's going to rip our worlds apart this evening. :)

* * *

The Doctor's POV:

The three week mark arrives and I decide that ignoring the Master might help matters. He's moved on from goading me about freedom and lying to him because, as I thought, that isn't what's really bothering him. His remarks have got more and more cutting, so I ignore him now.

I know it's stupid, but, I wonder… does he blame me for what happened to Gallifrey? Does he know what happened to our golden planet? Or is he running just as fast as we always used to?

* * *

Four weeks have passed since the day I rescued/imprisoned him and I finally get the answer to my question. I've pushed him far enough simply with my silence for him to shout at me.

"Why the hell won't you answer me? Why are you doing this?"

I answer calmly. "I'm doing this for your own good."

"My own good?" He's screaming now. His hands are bunched into fists, and I know he's using all his will power to stop himself from hitting me. "There's nothing for me here! Don't you get it? I can't be around you! You killed everyone! You blew Gallifrey out of the sky! You killed them!"

I rise slowly, letting my book fall onto the table next to me. I can see him pulling his courage together, so when I leave he can stop me. But I'm not going to leave. I'm not going to run this time.

I pluck my glasses off, folding them calmly and pushing them into one of my pockets. I cross the room… and punch him.

"I did what I had to." He's looking at me from the floor. I can see the fear in his eyes, but also the excitement. He thinks he's pushed me far enough.

I crouch down, checking his face is undamaged without touching him. I shake my head, smiling. "Not even close, Master."

* * *

I practically barricade myself into my bedroom for the next two days. I don't want to come out until the bruise that has formed on my knuckles is gone. Then I can pretend nothing happened. And we can continue.

* * *

When I next see the Master, he's lounging in the pilot's chair in the control room. He grins at me when I walk in, turning his face towards me, showing me the bruise. I can see he's done nothing to hide it, and he's wearing it almost like a trophy.

"Do you want anything for that?"

"Nah." He smiles, lifting a hand to his face. "It's a way of keeping score."

I begin to flick switches and levers, all the while trying my best not to look at the blossoming bruise on the Master's face. I won't give him the satisfaction.

"I know what you are, Doctor."

I was so preoccupied with keeping my eyes off him, I didn't even realized he'd moved, until he spoke from behind me. I hide my jump and don't turn.

"I know who you are."

I reply, because if we're here to stay for all eternity, not speaking to the only other being in existence is something of a waste. "What am I?"

"You…" He pressed himself against me. I tense, anticipating a strike, but none comes, and he continues. "… are the man who defeated the Time Lords."

I whirl round, anger falling from the edge of my tongue. Doesn't he understand that the pain he inflicts on me with talk of Home isn't the pain that we both enjoy? This pain is worse, and he just doesn't stop.

But as I see his eyes I realize he knows far too well how much he's hurting me. His head is tilted back, slightly to the right. A gentle smile is flying across his lips, and my breath catches when I realize what he's expecting: another blow.

"You think that'll work?" My voice is shaky, but my inner resolve is firm, at least until his next words.

"What'll work? I'm not trying to make you guilty, Doctor. I'll save that for another time."

I was confused, but tried not to show it. "What are you doing then?"

He smiled again, showing his teeth. "Killer."

Anger caught me again, but I finally get what he's trying to do.

"Why?" I ask.

His eyes narrow fractionally. "Because of what you've done, and what you're doing."

I nod, inclining my head, but never taking my eyes off the man in front of me. "And if I asked you to stop?"

He laughed. "Stop? You should know by now that I'll never stop."

I throw myself away from console, driving him back into one of the corral struts. "You want my anger? You want me to feel guilty? Make up your mind!"

The excitement is back in his eyes. His hands have fused themselves to my upper arms, not pushing away or pulling to, just holding. My hands have bunched themselves into his shirt, almost lifting him off of the floor.

I'm struggling, searching for control but not finding it. All I can see is the Master in front of me, hurting me for his own amusement.

"What's the matter? Lost more of that prided control of yours?"

I swallow, shaking my head. "Stop."

"You're a killer! Always have been, and always will be."

"Stop."

"You're just like me. You need death to make you feel alive."

"Master, stop."

"Everything around you dies. Everyone leaves you. Look at Adric, look at Rose, look at Martha, at Jack. Look at the hundreds of companions you've had and the years you've spent alone! Look at everything you've put the Universe through, and how you kill more people every day! Look--"

The fist across his face stops him mid-sentence. I look down at the hand that struck him. It doesn't even look like mine. When I raise my eyes to his he's smiling triumphantly. He relaxes in my grip. He expects me to run, I realize.

"You know what?" I growl out. The pain is so bad that I can hardly think straight. "You…" I press my face forward, so we're only inches apart. "...have no _idea _how bad this can get for you."

He chuckles. "Show me then. Let that side of the great, important Doctor that no one ever sees, but I know exists, out. I've seen him. I know he's there. And you're caging him, just like you're doing to me."

"Why do you hate me?"

The change in conversation throws him, but only for a second. "You destroyed Gallifrey."

"Oh," I laugh, turning away from him. I can sense his annoyance at being dismissed. "You've used that one. Pick another." I lean against the console, facing him again. "What have I done so wrong to you that you keep bringing up the one thing that I can never change?"

He shakes his head. "You killed them."

"I did what no one else could. And you ran," I sneer at him, watching his own anger cross his face. "We were the only two Time Lords who could handle killing everyone else, because we were the only two who'd been to the stars and had seen death. And you ran." I take a step forward. "You left me with one choice, and I took it. I killed everything in my path. You ran from your post… and I became you."

A stunned silence meets my words. I wait, because he isn't getting out of this, and finally he speaks. "I… I was scared. You weren't."

"How the hell do you know?"

"Because!" he shouts. "You're never scared. You just lock it all up inside of you, and throw it at your humans. THEY were more important to me."

I growl. "I loved THEM too."

"But you have people. I don't. All I had was flesh and blood… and you!"

"So why are you unhappy at this arrangement? You've got me."

"I need freedom! Freedom is pointless if you can't say no."

I feel every feeling in my body drain away. Even now, amongst all this, he's still trying to hurt me. "Stop." I shake my head.

He glares at me. "Fine."

I know he only means he would stop goading me about Gallifrey, but it was as near to an apology as I was ever going to get, so I nod. "You need my anger?" I spread my arms. "Make me angry. We're the only two here. There are no innocents that can get caught in the cross-fire."

He mumbles something.

"What?" I question.

"I said, 'no one's innocent'."

I smile sadly. "We used to be."


	5. The Chosen Few

**Author's Note: **Since the 2nd episode I've had a gold rush of reviews, favourited and alerted stories, and have had people subscribing to my account like there's no tomorrow. I think I sent everyone a thank you PM, but if I didn't I'm sorry and thank you. There were so many I got very confused! XD

* * *

The Master's POV:

I bang my head against the wall for what seems like the hundredth time. This is not fair! I've spent the last hour trying to figure out a way of getting around the isomorphic controls the Doctor has put on the TARDIS, but every time I get close, there's an unexplained power failure at the work station I'm at. It's not fair!

I rise, kicking my chair across the room, feeling slightly better as it takes a slice of the paintwork off the TARDIS's wall. The room I'm in is barely large enough to be a prison cell, and yet the Doctor somehow thinks that it's enough. I wouldn't put it past this machine of his to show him a huge room whenever he walks by, and turn it back into the hole this is when he's gone.

"I'm bored." I speak aloud, hoping that the Gods will take pity on me.

…

It's not fair!

I stamp down the corridors, trying to make as much noise as possible, hoping that I might wake the Doctor. Despite us not needing sleep very often, he seems determined to spend at least eight hours in his room every night. He's been travelling with humans for so long he's become one!

I round a corner, coming back to my room. I growl. The TARDIS seems to take great pleasure in moving all the rooms around, so I can never find what I'm looking for, and while that's all very well when I want to hide from the Doctor, it doesn't make finding him an easy matter.

"What you up to?"

I turn, seeing the Doctor leaning against the wall. "What am I doing? What are _you_ doing? Stalking is a _bad _trait, Doc."

"Don't call me that."

I raise my eyebrows. Surely he knows by now that telling me not to do something will almost always ensure that I _do _do it. "Why?"

He smiles lightly. "How would you like it if I called you Mas?"

I consider this. "I'd _prefer_ it if you call me _Master_." I leer at him.

The Doctor's eyebrows rise, but he ignores the innuendo. "What are you doing?"

I shrug. "Looking for you."

"Why?"

"Your ship hates me."

The Doctor chuckles. "Well, you did turn her into a Paradox Machine, thereby cannibalising her, and locking her within her own mind."

I pause, open mouthed. "She _did _eat me once."

The Doctor looks decidedly unimpressed. "What's she done?"

"She…" I pause.

"What?"

"She won't let me override the isomorphic controls," I mumble.

"Good!"

I sigh. "Can't we go somewhere?"

I see he's immediately on guard. What does he think I'm going to do… apart from try to kill him and escape? "No."

"Why?"

"You know why?"

"I'm bored." I turn away.

"I'm sorry."

"Didn't mean that," I say over my shoulder. "Meant I was bored of _you_." It feels hugely satisfying to slam the door in his face.

* * *

However, after half an hour, I realise that the Doctor's not going to follow me. He probably thinks that it would be an invasion of privacy. What privacy, is what I ask?

I try again to override the isomorphic controls, and this time get a nasty electric shock from the control panel.

Fuming, I storm out of the room, knowing that the TARDIS would probably drown me out if I remained there.

"Doctor! Your fucking ship just tried to kill me!"

He appears as if by magic, and I _see_ the look of worry in his eyes. "What happened?"

"She tried to electrocute me." I hold out my fingers. The effect's a little spoiled, however, by the fact that my Time Lord healing process has already kicked in and there isn't anything to see. The Doctor though, of course, has to state the obvious.

"I don't see anything."

I close my eyes and count to ten. It doesn't help. "I need to get off this ship…" I speak slowly. "…before I go mad."

The Doctor chews the inside of his mouth, which almost distracts me from the continued pain in my hand. He has very thin lips, doesn't he?

"I can't let you go."

"Then hold my hand!" I throw them up into the air. "Just get me away from your psychotic ship!"

I know at once that was the wrong thing to say, as the Doctor practically growls at me. "She is _not _psychotic."

"You love her more than you love me."

The Doctor looks incredulous when he's… incredulous. "What?"

"Humph!" I stalk off, hoping he won't follow. But the one time I _don't _want him to, is the one time he decides that my privacy isn't in my best interests. Why the hell does he get to decide what's in my best interests?"

When he catches up with me, "How are the drums?"

Oh great! The _one _thing I don't want to talk about as well. I change direction suddenly, taking off down a bleak looking corridor. It seems the Doctor couldn't be bothered to redecorate his entire ship.

But _of course_, the TARDIS never could be on _my _side and, as I round a corner, I find myself face to face with the Doctor again. "Why are you running?" He looks sad.

"Don't wanna talk 'bout it." I'm well aware that I sound like a spoilt child. I don't particularly care.

He sighs and turns away. I guess that's the end of it then.

* * *

I wake a few hours later, the Doctor calling me in my mind. Bloody cheek! Since when was _I _at his beck and call?

Just to prove my point, I wait another hour before leaving my room and moving towards the control room.

"Where the hell were you?"

I narrow my eyes. He's standing at the console, attention fixed on the view screen. "Since when did I become one of your _companions_?"

He bites his lip and looks at me. This regeneration of his is pathetic at hiding his emotions, and the apology I know I'll never get from him hangs sullenly in his eyes. The next second it's gone, and he's returned his attention to the view screen. "Been thinking 'bout what you said."

"Really?" I ask. "You're considering letting me 'blow up the rotten planet known as Earth and rule the galaxy', are you?"

He rolls his eyes. "No." He turns to face me. "The 'let me off the ship' argument."

I'm ashamed to say I can't keep the excitement and hope out of my voice when I next speak. "Really?"

"Yeah."

I frown. "What's the catch?"

He regards me for a moment, before throwing me something. I catch it automatically, my fingers slipping round a thin line of metal. I glance down, and see that I'm holding a bracelet. It doesn't even look like real silver; more like something out of a toy shop, with a small blue button next to the catch.

I raise my eyebrows, sending him a questioning look.

"They're…" He pauses. "They're prison bracelets. We each put one on. If you go 8 feet away from me…"

I smirk. "You'd kill me?"

"No," he answers. "You'd kill you."

* * *

"He did what?" Jack ignored the stares of the soldiers moving around him and the Brigadier. He couldn't believe the Doctor would do something like that. "He wouldn't..." Would he?

"He did," said the Brigadier sullenly.

"Shit!" Jack turned, aiming a kick at one of the oil drums piled around them. The pain made him feel a little better.

"Sir, I'm afraid you're going to have to calm down."

Jack growled at the soldier that had _dared_ tell him to calm down, but didn't bother to do anything but glare as the Brigadier ushered the soldier away.

This wasn't good by any stretch of the imagination. Jack had never seen the Doctor as weak, but he knew only too well that the Doctor was pretty much incapable of killing, especially when it came down to the only other of his kind in existence. Jack could understand where the Doctor was coming from: not wanting to be alone, but that monster had done things over that year that only existed in a few chosen heads that could never be forgiven.

Jack didn't care if the Doctor hated him for all eternity. He would do what the Doctor couldn't. He would protect the universe, and take the lives of the Master until there were none left.


	6. Man Eating Reptilian Parrot

**Author's Note: **Welcome to chapter 6! Again I apologise to anyone who didn't recieve a thank you PM from me when they favourited my stories or put them on alert. I got another windfall and got confused. XD

* * *

The Master's POV:

"Where did you get these things?" We're weaving through crowds of people. I've tried to find a landmark to tell me which planet I'm on, but the only headway I've made is that we're_ not_ on Earth. Even though I was ready to kill to get out I now wish that we'd stayed in the TARDIS. The crowd is so thick, and the Doctor is moving so fast, that every few minutes I have to grab hold of his coat so I can keep up with them and _not_ get zapped into oblivion. He seems oblivious and I'm pissed off… I wish we'd stayed in the TARDIS.

The Doctor ignores me, side stepping around a young couple. They're laughing, and I have a sudden urge to blow something up. I tell the Doctor this and it gets his attention long enough for me to repeat my question.

"Jack got 'em."

I snigger. "What did you and the Freak get up to in them?"

The Doctor scowls at the use of the word 'Freak', tugging me through the middle of a group of teenagers. "We kept a…" I knew he had been about to use the word 'prisoner', but thought better of it. "…Slitheen."

"As a pet?"

The Doctor rolls his eyes. "No! We were taking her back to her home world to be imprisoned."

"So you tied yourself to a Slitheen? On purpose?"

"Yep." I crash into his back as he stops suddenly, letting what looks like a cross between a monkey and dog cross our path.

"Did she fry?" I grin, expecting a moody silence.

"Uh…" the Doctor says. "Kind of."

I raise my eyebrows. "You killed something… on purpose?"

"No!" The Doctor turns so he's walking backwards, facing me. Somehow, he doesn't hit anyone. "She just got… de-aged to childhood."

I stop, staring down at the bracelet. The Doctor stops a few paces from me. "What?"

I look up at him, a meaningful expression on my face. I mean, it's all very well and good, but not even I can live up to the universe's expectations of escape, domination, and murder, etc, if I'm a kid again.

"Oh!" The Doctor grins. "It wasn't the bracelet." He reaches out, grabs my arm, and continues to pull me through the crowd. "It was the TARDIS."

"Clever TARDIS!"

"Yeah, she saved me, Jack, and Rose."

I shake my head. "Bad TARDIS!"

* * *

Owen yawned loudly, which earned him a look of barely disguised hostility from Toshiko. She was showing them a slideshow that summarised all they found out when they had been in the Himalayas. Seeing as it had been nothing, Owen didn't see the point of this exercise. Ianto and Gwen, however, were listening with rapt attention, as they had been stuck on the other side of the mountain when Owen and Tosh had found the cabin that had apparently held a man eating reptilian parrot.

Needless to say, the cabin hadn't, and Owen was bored.

"So we found this cabin." Click. A beaten-down, wooden cabin appeared on the wall. "Where there was a reported sighting of a rengnewaala bina samjhe boojhe doosron ki nakal karne waala."

"Uh!" Owen buried his head in his hands, so Tosh wouldn't see him laughing. Even Ianto and Gwen were smiling.

Tosh, however, wasn't. "I hardly see what's funny about the rengnewaala bina--"

"Stop." Owen was now shaking with laughter. "Just tell 'em we found nothing and be done with it."

"Oh, for heaven's sake." Tosh crossed her arms.

Before she could say anything more, though, there was a great crash from the hub below them. All four of them rushed out, flying down the steps to the main area, drawing their guns as they went.

Standing in the middle of the hub was Jack, looking guilty. Myfanwy was standing next to him, and the remains of one of the bird's feeders lay at their feet.

"Jack!"

"That's me." Jack grinned uneasily.

When Ianto started forward, Jack stepped back. Ianto stopped, looking hurt. "Jack?"

Jack smiled again, swallowing. "You're not going to hit me, are you?"

Ianto shook his head wordlessly, stepping forward again, this time enveloping Jack in a tight hug, burying his head in Jack shoulder. "No. I might kill you, but I'd never hit you."

Jack grinned, this time a proper smile. "Good to be back."

"Where have you been?" Toshiko asked. Her voice was unusually high pitched.

"Well…" Jack disentangled himself from Ianto. "Ya know the President?"

"He got killed," Owen piped up.

"Yep." Jack nodded. "I was up there."

"You've been gone for three months!"

"Yeah," Jack replied slowly, quickly changing the subject. "Need your help."

Gwen, who was the only one who hadn't holstered her gun, frowned. "With what?"

"UNIT need some help setting the world to rights… and there's someone we need to find."

"Who?"

Jack's face darkened. "Harold Saxon."

* * *

Martha stood at the window, looking out at the street. It was empty, devoid of cars, people, and, most importantly, the TARDIS. She has expected him to come and say goodbye. She had wanted to be able to hug him and tell him she would see him again. But she supposed it must be too painful for him.

She turned back to the living room with a sigh, seeing her family gathered around Leo, her brother. All of them were talking at once, telling him that everything was okay, that nothing had happened, etc, etc.

Martha sighed, turning back to the street. There was no point in telling Leo the truth. He would just think they'd all gone mad.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me."

The Doctor's smile disappeared, being replaced with a pout, which the Master was _not _looking at. "Oh, come on."

"That's the Judoon High Command… I'm not walking in there."

"That's where there the signal came from, so that's where we're going."

"I'm wanted on what…" The Master began counting on his fingers. "Amanopia, for trafficking livers, Bouken, for stealing their planet's mantle, Kolkokron, because the stupid brain-dead locals thought I'd stolen one of their holy rocks, Mondaran, cos I pissed off some high and mighty Cyberman, Pheros, because I stole all their fusion reactors, and Terioli, because of a _major _misunderstanding with the emperor and his daughter. And those are just the ones I can remember!"

"They won't recognize you." The Doctor began walking confidently towards the Judoon High Command.

The Master remained stoically where he was, even when the Doctor turned around and waved his bracelet in the air. The Doctor, true to form, stopped before he moved out of range. "Come on!"

"No. There is nothing is this universe that would make me walk in there." The Master crossed his arms across him chest.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, a mischievous look appearing in his eyes. He walked forward a few steps, until he was within a metre of the Master, who had a wary look in his own eyes.

The Doctor's then transformed into puppy dog's eyes. "Please."

He turned and walked away, leaving the Master standing with his mouth hanging slightly open. Grumbling about 'taking advantage', the Master followed.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the total fan-girl moment at the end there, but I dare anyone to tell me they didn't like it! XD

The term 'rengnewaala bina samjhe boojhe doosron ki nakal karne waala', which I apologize for now, means 'reptilian parrot' in Hindi, which would have been the language spoken in the Himalayas. These are the translations:

Rengnewaala - reptilian (male noun).

Bina samjhe boojhe doosron ki nakal karne waala - parrot - (noun) mindless mimic (because the creature wasn't _actually_ a parrot).

I'm sorry if I've confused anyone, because I've sure confused myself!

Review?


	7. A Rather Large Problem

**Author's Note: **Sorry this wasn't posted last night, but I had a major dose of writer's block, plus the 'f' key of my keyboard stopped working. O_o

I worked really hard on this chapter so anyone who wants to tell me what they think will be rewarded with cookies! :)

I'd also like to thank **FreeXFallXPhoenix** and **Eveylon**, for being there for me to bounce ideas off of. They're probably the reason you're getting this chapter tonight, as opposed to tomorrow.

Hope you like!

* * *

"These corridors are strangely empty." The Master over-exaggerated the whisper, looking left and right down the seemingly endless white corridor they stood on. A number of silver metal doors led off the corridor. The two men had tried the first few, but had reached the conclusion that they were all locked.

"You always _did_ have a talent for stating the obvious." The Doctor frowned. "But you're right. There should be _someone _about."

"What signal did you pick up?" the Master asked, as they began to walk again.

"Distress signal."

The Master stopped. A few seconds later the Doctor realised the Master wasn't with him, and moved back a few steps. "What?"

"We're not walking into danger."

"Nah." The Doctor moved off again.

"It wasn't a question," the Master hissed, following cautiously. "It was a statement. We're _not _doing this."

"Where's your sense of adventure?"

The Master was just about to say where the Doctor could stick his 'sense of adventure', when a bone-crushing roar rang out through the hallways. The Master moved subtly closer to the Doctor.

"Ooh," said the Doctor, as they watched a rather large wolf round the corner. He looked at the Master and grinned, "Danger", before starting off down the corridor, away from the wolf, closely followed by the Master.

* * *

"There's nothing?" Jack asked.

"No." Tosh shook her head. "It's like he never even existed. I would _love _to talk to the person who did this. They must be a genius."

The feeling of irony in Jack's gut didn't make him feel any better. Neither did the fact that only Tosh was speaking to him, and that was only because he'd shown her the technological marvel of the century.

Owen had retreated to his medical area, Gwen to whatever side of the hub Jack wasn't on, and Ianto had vanished into thin air. Jack had known that the return would be bad; he had abandoned them after all, but he thought they might at least give him a chance to explain himself.

"Ooh."

Jack blinked, and watched as Tosh's head bent over her keyboard, rows and rows of numbers flashing across the screen. "What's that?"

"There _is _something about the Prime Minister." Jack was about to say _ex_-Prime Minister, but Tosh continued. "It's hidden under a layer of code. Someone's put a block in place. If I can crack it…"

Jack sighed and turned away. There was about as much chance of Tosh cracking a Time Lord's code as there was of he and Ianto having sex any time soon.

There was a beep from behind him, and what he knew would be the first of many "Hmms," from Toshiko.

* * *

The Master's POV:

I hurtle around another corner, watching yet more doors flash past me. They changed from silver to a dull grey about seventy feet back, but none of them look like they're going to open for us.

I'm finding it embarrassingly hard to keep up with the Doctor. He seems to be flying, the idiot.

I can hear the wolf behind us. Its claws clacking rhythmically on the floor seem to keep in time with the drums. Bang. Clack. Bang. Clack. Bang. Clack. Bang. Clack.

The Doctor is now quite a way ahead of me, and I see him drop his pace slightly. Damn it! I will _not _be embarrassed by him!

The walls begin to turn from plain white into clear plastic. Through them I can see what looks like laboratories, though of course they're more human-like labs than Time Lord. When will humans learn that having dangerous substances in open test tubes can never end well?

"Come on!"

I snap my attention back to the Doctor. He's running backwards, and is somehow _still _faster than me. "What?" I manage to pant out.

"If you were going any slower, you'd be going backwards!"

I growl. "You've done a lot more running than me." As we turn another corner, this time with the white un-see through walls again, a table comes into view. It's propped on its side, filling the width of the corridor, like a barricade. There's a second where I think that saying nothing would be extremely satisfying, just to see him fall flat on his back. The next moment that gleeful thought is dashed by another roar from the beast behind. There's no point in making him fall over, seeing as I would have to stop and help him up, or get fried when I get out of range.

"Table!"

He gives me a perplexed look. "I know." He turns and leaps over the table in one swift movement, utterly topping my attempted jump turned-ungainly-fall.

As we crouch behind the table, I see he's fiddling with his sonic screwdriver. Not wanting to put my faith in something that's probably been programmed by _him_, I slide across the floor towards one of the grey doors.

Reaching up to the handle, I tug half-heartedly on it, not expecting it to open. So when it does, I lose my balance completely and topple through. Twisting round, I pull my legs through the door, and am surprised when it swings closed behind me. My last sight is the Doctor's face, halfway through looking up from his work. His mouth is open in an 'oh' of surprise.

"Shit." I scramble up, banging on the door as there's no handle on this side. There doesn't seem to be a way to open it. I'm about to try anything from shouting at it to kicking it in when I feel something pressed into my back, and a low voice hissing at me.

"Stop," the voice says.


	8. Not A Good Day

The Master's POV:

I freeze, shooting one more glance towards the door before turning. I'm met with the sight of two burly men hefting guns. Well, my day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

"Who are you?" the one not poking me in the stomach with a gun asks.

"Me? I'm nobody… just passing through, so to speak." God! I even sound like _him_. I quickly change tack. "I picked up a distress signal. I came here to…" Oh, I think I'm gonna be sick. "…help."

The gunman's eyes narrow, which just makes him look silly. "How did you get past the _Keraf_?"

"I ran." I am speaking to a pair of idiots. "Now… I really need to get my… friend, yeah?" I turn back to the door, only to find myself tugged away from it by two strong arms. "Hey!" I continue to struggle until they release me, then I look at them automatically with wounded pride, forgetting that they _aren't_ the Doctor, and therefore it won't work.

One of them chuckles. "Well, look at that. A right little pretty boy."

I don't know whether to be flattered or offended. I settle for trying to explain myself again. "You don't understand. I have to get the man I was with through that door." Otherwise I'll get fried when he has to start running again, I think.

"We're not opening the door," the gunman shakes his head. "The _Keraf _could get through."

"What the hell is a _Keraf_?" I ask. "Last time I checked this place was Judoon High Command."

The two men glance at each other. "What's it to you?"

I bite my lip, considering my options. I never like taking sides when not in possession of all the facts. It makes choosing the right one a lot harder than it normally would be.

Looking the two men up and down, they aren't wearing anything that could be construed as police-like, which is all the Judoon and their employees wear. They're dressed in plain grey overalls, with a small black box over their left bicep. It looks oddly familiar.

"I'm…" I make my decision quickly, because if it's wrong, it's going to be wrong whichever way I say it. "I'm a prisoner of the Judoon. I escaped when the… alarms went off. Been running around since then."

The two men glance at each other again, and then, too slowly for my liking, lower their guns. Could humanoids _be_ any stupider?

The bigger of the two nods slightly. "So are we." His eyes move in a way that screams 'liar', but this definitely isn't the best time to provoke people, so I grin at them.

"Can I get my friend now?"

"No." The other shakes his head. "The _Keraf _might get through."

There's a yelp from beyond the door. I inhale sharply, trying not to look bothered. I can hear the splintering of wood. Then the Doctor yells. Then there's silence.

* * *

"Turn on the CCTV cameras of the Plaza."

Toshiko jumped. The order had come from Owen, who hadn't talked to her since she'd taken Gwen's side over who should be leader months ago. Turning, she took in all three of her colleagues, gathered around her desk. "Why?"

Owen sighed theatrically. "Ianto just came in and saw the Captain talking to some guy. Go on, bring it up." He reached towards her keyboard.

She slapped his hands away. "Fine." Quickly minimizing the coding she had been working on, she brought up the Plaza. At the foot of the water tower stood Jack and the man who Ianto had seen. The second man was balding, wearing a military uniform, and shaking his head.

"Search face-recognition."

"Already doing it," Tosh replied.

* * *

Jack watched the Brigadier shake his head, and inwardly sighed.

"No," the Brigadier said. "Don't call the Doctor."

"But--"

"No!" The Brigadier voice became more forceful. "He won't let you have the Master, will he?"

Jack shook his head unhappily. "No."

"Then calling him will just alert him that we mean the Master harm."

"The Doctor's not the enemy."

"He's hiding the enemy. The difference is the same in my book."

Jack was about to reply that the difference certainly _wasn't _the same, and Earth should be bloody grateful to the Doctor for all he's done in the past, when there was a shout from the other side of the Plaza.

"Jack!"

Jack whipped round. Ianto! He could see the younger man standing next to the alley that led to the Tourist Office. He began to run over, ignoring the Brigadier's attempts to keep up. Ianto mattered right now.

"Are you all right?" Jack reached out a hand to Ianto before a pointed look from the other man stopped him.

"I'm fine, Jack. Tosh wanted you." He glanced briefly at the Brigadier, who arrived panting, before continuing. "Something about breaking the codes."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "She couldn't have."

A smirk appeared on Ianto's lips. "I'll tell her you said that." He retreated into the Office.

"What? No." Jack started forward, only to remember the Brigadier, and turn back round.

"Come on! You want to find the Master, don't you?"

The Brigadier nodded, as that was all he could do without breath in his body, and followed.

* * *

The Doctor was not having a good day. Now, he knew that now he had the Master as a… now that he had the Master travelling with him, nothing would ever be easy. He would have to keep one eye on the oncoming danger, and the other on the Master, making sure that the danger wasn't added to by an escaped Time Lord.

He'd had it all planned out: the month spent aboard the TARDIS, which would hopefully calm the Master down, and stop him killing the first thing he saw when he got planet side again, the answering of a distress signal that he'd received weeks ago, and the fact that this was a nice, busy planet, with a lot of people to ask where the Master was if they got separated.

He could understand the Master's frustrations at being held prisoner only too well. But the universe would always come first. It maybe hadn't been the brightest thing to answer a distress signal that had been flashing on and off for weeks, but what are time machines for, if not to go back in time and sort things out?

Landing just two hours after the signal had been sent hadn't been hard, as he'd never actually _been _to Judoon High Command before. Too many police people. The Doctor didn't like police people. They made him nervous.

And he thought he'd hit gold with Jack's bracelets. They'd just been sitting on top of his dresser when he'd got up this morning.

_The Doctor yawned, hauling himself out of bed, glad at being able to get a good, undisturbed-by-Master night's sleep. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he crossed the room to the bathroom._

_Before going in, however, he caught a glimpse of something shiny sitting on top of his dresser. Please don't let it be a bomb, he thought._

_When he got to his dresser and saw the two bracelets sitting there though, he chewed the inside on his mouth. "I thought you didn't like the Master," he spoke aloud._

_*I don't* came the reply._

"_Then why?" He picked up the bracelets, weighing up his options._

_*If he's off with you somewhere, he's not here*_

The Doctor grimaced at the memory. Why couldn't they just get along? It was like having children… again.

He twisted round, peering cautiously over the top of the table. The door the Master had gone through wouldn't open again, and neither would the one opposite it. They looked as if they were deadlocked. He hated deadlocks!

He could hear the beast roaring as it searched for him. He glanced back down the corridor. There was no way he could start running again, not with the Master on the other side of that door, ready to be fried if the Doctor so much as moved.

_Why _did he have to leave the controls for the bracelets in the TARDIS? It was all very well and good that the Master couldn't get to them there but, incidentally, neither could he.

The wolf-creature rounded the corner, and the Doctor tugged his head back down. Think, he commanded himself. Think!

There was another roar, and he could hear the wolf's claws start to skitter across the floor as it began to run again. Then everything seemed to happen at once, even though the Doctor knew that it _couldn't _happen all at once, according to the laws of time.

A huge paw appeared over his head, coming to rest on the table. He yelped and scrambled backwards, away from it, pressing himself against the door the Master had disappeared through. On the paw, claws suddenly appeared, extending downward through the table, shattering it, which _was _rather impressive, thought the Doctor.

The wolf's head appeared through the wreckage of the table, growling. It turned slowly towards the Doctor, its second paw coming to rest on the floor. It seemed to be sizing him up.

The Doctor smiled disarmingly. "Hello."

The wolf hissed at him, raising its still clawed paw. The Doctor yelled automatically at that paw came slashing through the air towards him.


	9. Little Blue Button

Owen watched from his medical area as Jack entered the hub, followed by the mystery man in uniform. Who _was_ he? He glanced down at Toshiko, crouched next to the stairs, out of sight of the rest of the hub. When Ianto had come into the hub, and said that Jack and the stranger were following, Owen had grabbed Tosh and her laptop, and had led her down to the medical bay, with strict instructions to find out who the stranger was.

He crouched down next to her. "Any luck?"

"Hmm."

"Tosh?" Jack called out from the hub. Toshiko jumped up, thrusting her laptop into Owen's hands, and started up the stairs.

Owen bit his lip, holding Tosh's laptop like it would fall apart if he so much as looked at it. Hesitantly reaching out, he tapped the enter key. A picture of the stranger appeared on the screen, scrolling down to reveal rows and rows of information.

Owen narrowed his eyes, reading about the man's UNIT past. He paused, hovering the mouse pointer over a file marked 'Top Secret', then clicked downwards.

His eyes widened slightly.

* * *

The Doctor, with his arms crossed above his head, attempting to shield himself from the giant paw, was tore from his crouched position on the floor, and pulled up into the air. He could feel the claws cutting through his overcoat and suit, drawing blood from his back. He yelped again, unfurling automatically, coming face to face with the wolf, which looked decidedly less appetizing up close. And it hadn't been bananas before!

The wolf was nearly as tall as he would be standing up. It had three dark yellow lines running down its back, submerging into its tail, which was a shade brighter. The tiny eyes that were staring at him looked artificial, as if someone had stuck two buttons on in their place. It had a coat of what looked like silk; the Doctor wasn't about to reach out and touch it after all. Its jaws were open, showing rows of huge teeth, which seemed to be terribly blunt, which would lead to rather a painful end, thought the Doctor.

The wolf gave a deep, shuddering growl, which reminded the Doctor somewhat of the sound a stomach would make if it was hungry.

He tried to charm the wolf again. "Hello there! I would rather like to be put down, only your claws are--"

The wolf roared, and dropped the Doctor, turning away.

"Oof," said the Doctor.

The wolf looking back at him, its tongue hanging from its mouth. It faced forward again, reached back with its right back leg, and swept the Doctor up again. Looking at the strange angle the leg was now contorted at, the Doctor felt he _had_ to say something.

"Don't hurt yourself on my account, really. I'd be quite happy to talk this out with you."

The wolf growled again, before setting off at a lopping pace on three legs down the corridor.

"Wait!" The Doctor turned, grabbing hold of the door handle. The wolf turned and growled again. "No!" the Doctor told it. "I am _not_ letting go. Not when the only other of my species is dependant on me being here!"

The wolf seemed to consider, before trying to tug him away from the door. The Doctor hung on for dear life or, to be more precise, the Master's life. He was going to have serious words with the TARDIS later. Look at the mess she'd got them into!

* * *

The Master's POV:

I tense again as there's a threatening growl from beyond the door. I can hear the Doctor talking, but he sounds muffled. Knowing him, he's probably trying to sweet talk the monster. I then hear a roar. Right! I've had enough.

I move quickly, barrelling into the larger of the two men, sending him crashing to the ground, his gun skittering away uselessly into a corner. Human's reaction times are pathetic, and I manage to grab the other man's gun before he's had time to blink. I throw in a punch for good measure, shoving him across the room towards his compatriot.

I then turn back to the door. Another inspection and my original assessment is proved correct. There doesn't seem to be a door handle, or anything that could be described as a lock.

I hear more scuffles from beyond the door, and the Doctor shouts. "Wait!"

I tut, before raising the gun, aiming it at the door, and pulling the trigger. Nothing happens. I look down at the gun, hearing a snigger from behind me. I turn.

"You think the Judoon keep guns just lying around?" The two men, still lying where I left them, laugh. I have the sudden urge to kill one of them. I would too, except that I can't reach them without going out of range. I settle for throwing the gun in my hands at them really hard. It bounces off the head of the man who had spoken, knocking him out. There you go, I tell myself, I feel better already.

I'm now sorely aware of the predicament I'm in. I have nothing to protect myself with, two men who are probably going to try and kill me soon, I'm separated from the Doctor, and if he moves away from the door I'm going to be toast. This is all the Doctor's fault!

"Master!"

I keep my eyes fixed on the two men, but call out. "Yeah?"

"Ow! Get off… Take the bracelet off!"

I now have an urge to kill the Doctor. "I can't, you moron!"

I hear claws scrabbling for purchase, then the Doctor again. "What's it been? Twenty minutes since we left the TARDIS?"

"My point," I answer dryly, as the still conscious man rises to his feet. "Travelling with you is dangerous."

"I meant… Arh!" There was a pause. "I meant haven't you tried to get it off yet?"

I narrow my eyes at the man, feeling cornered. What the hell is the Doctor talking about? Of course I haven't touched something that could possibly fry me!

The Doctor, however, doesn't wait for my answer, instead shouting, "Press the blue button. It'll come off."

I look down at my wrist, reaching up with my free hand, and slowly pressing the blue button. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if it activates. But somehow I don't think the Doctor would kill me merely to get away himself. His self-preservation instinct must be the lowest in the Universe!

There are no sparks though. It simply unlatches and falls to the ground.

I whip round to the door, and give it a kick. "I'm going to bloody kill you!"

I'm almost as stupid as one of the Doctor's humans, I realise, as I turn back to the room a second too late, and the conscious man's fist connects sharply with the side of my face.

* * *

The Doctor grins at the Master's indignant shout, finally releasing the door handle and allowing himself to be picked up again. Well… 'allow' is such a strong word. He doesn't really have any choice, but likes to think he does.

"Out of interest," the Doctor continues. "How are you meant to run on three legs?"

The wolf looks back at him, seemingly raising an eyebrow, and begins to run.

"Ow," says the Doctor, as the wolf's fourth leg, which was the one holding him, comes down, and he's banged unceremoniously into the floor, only to be lifted up again a second later. The process repeats itself.

This would never have happened if I'd gone with my original plan, the Doctor thinks crossly, and handcuffed the Master to me.


	10. Muda’Melaen?

The Master's POV:

The man who punched me is strong, and he's currently in the process of trying to rip my head off my shoulders. Where the hell is the Doctor when you need him?

I twist in the death grip the man has on my neck, dislodging him enough so he has to take one hand away from me. That's when I throw a punch of my own. Even if I do say so myself, I got quite proficient in fighting when I was on the Valliant. Sure, very few of the humans could actually fight _back_, but I still learned where to land my punches to inflict the maximum amount of pain.

There's not a lot of the man I can reach, seeing as he's behind me, but I manage to make contact with a nerve cluster behind his rib cage. The shot doesn't hold as much power as I'd like, and the man only ends up being winded.

But it's still enough for me to rip his remaining hand off my neck, and shove him backwards. I stumble away, massaging my neck. Humans are bloody annoying!

I hear a growl from behind me, and turn to see the man throwing himself at me again. Never mind annoying, I think, they're resilient as well.

I had punched the nerve cluster in his right side, and I notice the slightly slower movements of his right arm. I grin.

Blocking a left hook, I duck under his right fist, and head butt him in the stomach. He lurches away from me, tripping over his own feet, which is _extremely_ amusing. He lands hard on his back and I give him a little wave.

"You gonna lie on your back all day?" I give him a cocky grin.

He growls again, reaching into his trouser pocket, and pulling out a knife. It gleams in the light, showing a viscous serrated edge. Why couldn't I keep my big mouth shut, I think, as he lunges at me again?

Stupidly, though I'm beginning to think this is "clever" for humankind, he thrusts the knife forward with his weak right hand, which I easily dodge. He's still only half way up, so I give him a swift kick, which crashes into the side of his head. He falls with a grunt.

Looking round for a weapon, all I can see if the discarded fake gun, lying across the room. Only problem with this though, is that I'll need to come into range of the second man. He still looks unconscious, but you can never really tell, can you?

The other man is getting slowly to his feet, so I guess I don't have much choice. I dart across the room, picking up the gun, and getting away from the unconscious man as fast as possible. He doesn't move though.

The other man laughs. "What are you? Stupid? You know that doesn't work."

My ego bristles. How dare this human insult _my_ intelligence! "I know it doesn't work," I say in a deeply patronizing voice. He scowls. "What I also know… is that this thing's damn heavy."

Throwing the fake gun is harder this time, mostly because the idiot human sees what I'm about to do and dives for cover, so I have to change the direction of my throw at the last second. Still, it only glances off his shoulder, and he rolls to his feet easily, copying my patronising voice. "Want to try again?"

"Stupid ape!" I spit.

He starts forward again, slowly moving across the room. He knows there's nowhere I can run, that there's nothing else left to fight him off with. He thinks he's got me well and truly cornered. "You want to beg for your life now?" He leers at me.

"Nah." I study my fingernails, before pausing and looking up at him. "Do you?"

He snarls again and springs across the room, slashing at me wildly. I duck the first thrust, parry the second, but the third catches me in the upper arm, throwing a spray of blood into the air.

I jump forward slightly, wrong footing him. He expected me to keep backing up. I knock his knife hand out of the way, holding it down while I drive upwards with my free hand. My hand, palm first, connects sharply with the bottom of his nose. My Time Lord hearing even manages to pick up the bone as it splinters.

The man cries out, dropping his knife and falling backwards, hands over his nose.

I grin at him, my smile full of malevolence. "I broke your nose," I state simply. "Right now pieces of your nasal bone are moving into your frontal lobe." I pause. The man is staring at me, terrified. "You, my human, are going to die." I smile again, showing my teeth. "Unless, of course..." I pick up his discarded knife. "You want me to make it quick?"

* * *

"Who is he?"

Owen jumped, glancing up guilty to see Ianto standing at the bottom of the med bay stairs. "Who?"

Ianto sighs, coming to sit next to him on the floor. "Who'd you think?"

Owen shrugs. Ianto isn't about to run tell Jack, is he? "It says here he used to work for UNIT back in the 70s. His name is… Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart. He returned to UNIT a few months ago."

"What's so special about him then," Ianto asked.

"This." Owen showed Ianto the screen. "During the 70s he was the man handing in the reports about UNIT's scientific advisor. Called him 'the Doctor'."

Ianto's eyebrows rose. "You think it's the Doctor Jack's always talking about."

"Pretty sure… seeing as the reports are so bloody vague… and here." Owen pointed. "You remember reading those reports about the chemicals in the water in May, 1974?"

"Uhuh." Ianto nodded. "It was a cover up."

Owen gave Ianto a funny look. "Course it was. That's not the point. Look… this Brigadier guy's report states that UNIT's scientific advisor, i.e. the Doctor, managed to find the source of the bad water. It says here that it was a member of UNIT gone bad. But…" A few more clicks on the keyboard. "This is the only file I could gain access to that was meant for the government and _not_ the UNIT higher-ups. It states that the bad member of UNIT was _actually_ making these monsters appear. That it wasn't a trick or anything. And that "the Doctor" managed to stop him and discover why these dinosaur things were appearing."

"What does that tell us then?"

Owen rolled his eyes. "That this Brigadier fellow has or had some connection to the guy our fearless leader probably ran off with. So… we talk to him, find out about the Doctor, and maybe more about Jack."

Ianto nodded. "Is there anything more?"

"A whole lot from reports meant for the UNIT staff and everything, but everything's very military-simple. They hardly mention the Doctor at all."

"Have you checked the staff pay-roll?" Ianto asked suddenly.

"No." Owen blinked. "Why would I do that?"

Ianto sighed, sliding the laptop off Owen's lap and onto his own. "Well, if this "Doctor" worked for UNIT then they had to pay him, didn't they?"

Owen was cross he hadn't thought of this first, so pitched in. "Yeah, and you can check what he spent it on as well. UNIT are meticulous about those kinds of reports."

The next few minutes were spent with Ianto tapping on the keys, chewing on his bottom lip, and Owen, trying to get the laptop back.

"Here," Ianto said suddenly. "Look… heh!"

Owen tipped the laptop towards him. "But… that's just a load of machinery." He looked downcast. "We need Tosh."

* * *

The Doctor's POV:

I get bumped against the floor for… what? It's got to be getting into the hundreds by now. My back _hurts_. I've tried to lever myself out of the wolf's grip, but all it does is tighten its hold, and off we go down another corridor.

I keep hoping the Master will come barrelling out of one of the doors we're still passing, and stop the thing, getting me free. But I know that's not gonna happen. I doubt it would happen if the person I was travelling with cared about me, never mind how the Master views me.

The wolf turns suddenly, moving round a corner which I crash into. Let me correct my previous statement. My back doesn't hurt. _Everything_ hurts!

The wolf suddenly stops. I can't stop my momentum and therefore crash into its back. It doesn't even register me though. Instead, it raises its head to the ceiling, sniffing, before releasing its hold on me.

I look up, after checking nothing's broken, and find it staring at me. It seems to be hesitant. "What?" I ask.

It lifts one of its paws. I flinch backwards, but it merely places it gently on my chest. I stare at it warily. It puts its head on one side, and withdraws its paw.

It opens it mouth, panting slightly from the run, and… "Muda'Melaen?"

I gasp, my eyes becoming wide. "What?"

It blinks. "Muda'Melaen?"

I find I can't control my breathing. Why is this… wolf saying those words? "What did you say?" I manage to choke out.

It places a paw on my chest again. "Muda'Melaen?"

* * *

**Author's Note: **The mention of dinosaurs appearing, in Ianto and Owen's conversation, is a reference to the 3rd Doctor's story, "Invasion of the Dinosaurs". It was set in the early 1970s, when the Doctor was stranded on Earth, and involved a member of UNIT called Captain Yates, going bad, and making these dinosaurs come forward in time, and appear in London.

And can I ask those readers who knows what "Muda'Melaen" means, please don't leave the definition in a review? This is in case there are some readers who don't know what it means, as the suspense will be much better served if they don't know what it means. Thanks!


	11. Pain

**Author's Note: **Unfortunately, the plot I had planned for this chapter had so many holes in it, it was letting in water, so I've changed it somewhat. Therefore, the meaning of "Muda'Melaen" no longer holds any suspense. Sorry, guys! :)

It means "are you ready?" in Gallifreyan. I'm also interested at how many people knew that and how many had to look it up?

I have also found that, looking on the internet, there is a huge shortage of Gallifreyan language. Therefore, I have made my own up. Translations will be after the Gallifreyan (in italics). Sorry about this, but I could find translations of a magnificent five phrases! Which I don't think is enough to carry on a proper conversation. :)

* * *

"You can't say _that_!" The Doctor shook his head, deciding against believing that this wolf-thing had just asked him whether he was ready or not. "You're… you're… you're a… dog. You can't say… _that_!"

"Muda'Endis?" _Are you done?_

The Doctor made a chocking noise. "How can…?"

The wolf seemed to sigh. It placed one of its paws back on the Doctor's chest, who tried unsuccessfully to move away, and spoke again. "Delae'Shoun." _Here we go._

The Doctor's eyes widened as yet more Gallifreyan dialect was used by something that shouldn't even have the brain power to form thoughts, let alone speak the oldest language in the universe.

There was a moment of utter stillness, when the Doctor felt like saying, 'well, is that it?", then the world seemed to tip sideways. The corridor folded in on itself, distorting roughly, and the Doctor felt himself being torn off the floor and hurled through the ceiling of the corridor, which wasn't there anymore. The wolf's paw was still on his chest, but it didn't seem to be attached to anything.

There were two lights ahead of him and he seemed to be rushing towards them. He didn't like this. Not one bit. He tried to pull away from the paw, but it seemed to have fused itself to his flesh.

The lights were getting larger and larger, brighter and brighter. The Doctor found he couldn't tear his eyes away from them.

When they were right in front of him, he stopped moving, and just hung there, though he didn't know where 'there' was, or even if 'there' was 'here'.

"Na'Qae." _Greetings._

"Who are you?" The Doctor tried to move again, but his arms seemed to be stuck to his sides, no matter how much he struggled.

"Sendas." _Animals._

The lights shifted apart and blinked. They were eyes.

"Mer'zaz Vazunat." _You will travel._

"Why?" the Doctor shouted. "Who are you?"

"Mer'zaz Vazunat." _You will travel._

The eyes blinked twice, and then went out. The Doctor was plunged into complete darkness for several second, before his head exploded with the light. It was inside his head and it hurt. His arms were still trapped at his sides. He couldn't move; couldn't get away.

He was suddenly jerked downwards, and it felt as if he was free falling. His arms became free, but they merely flailed from side to side, as the pain worsened, and the Doctor screamed.

* * *

"You've cracked the codes?" Jack didn't sound exactly hopeful because… well, because it's a Time Lord, and Toshiko is only human.

"Maybe." She gave the Brigadier a shifty look, glancing questioningly at Jack. When she got no response though, she turned back to her computer, tapping on a few keys. The lines of code reappeared. A few more clicks and they changed into hundreds of black and white squares. "What we have here is a Data Matrix. It's machine compressed information, which has been transformed into hard data, resulting in these." She tapped the screen, indicating the squares.

"It's still a brilliant job," she continued. "But even if an alien did this, which I highly suspect, it couldn't have in-scripted the data _that_ far beneath the surface, simply because it was using Earth technology."

"So you can find whatever he hid in there?" the Brigadier asked.

Toshiko nodded, eyeing him warily. "It's a simple matter of finding which codes, or squares," she added helpfully, "are real, and which aren't. Then I can separate the coding from the data, reform them, and hopefully get the information. I could explain it, but I doubt you would understand."

Jack was smirking by the time she had finished. "Okay, Tosh. Thanks."

She nodded sharply, turning back to her computer, and busied herself with the keyboard.

The Brigadier looked a little nonplussed, so Jack slowly led him away.

"You really think she can crack a code the Master made?"

Jack nodded, after a moment of hesitation. "She's the best. If he really did use human technology, there's no reason why she can't." He glanced at his wrist-strap. "I'm gonna go tell the soldiers you brought with you to go back to UNIT. We don't need them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Jack smiled, moving towards the cog door. "This is the safest place in the world." He gave a little wave, before jogging out of the hub.

The Brigadier turned round, well aware that he was deep underground with a group of stranger.

"Coffee, sir?"

The Brigadier turned to see the young man who had called Jack and him in before. He was standing next to a coffee machine, a bland expression on his face.

"Um… do you have tea…?"

"Ianto, sir. And of course." A flash of annoyance passed across the man's face at the mention of tea, but the Brigadier convinced himself that he must have imagined it, because the next second Ianto was smiling. "Owen… that's our doctor… wants to talk to you." He indicated the medical area.

"Thank you." The Brigadier nodded, watching the young man set off across the vast underground base, before starting towards the medical bay. "Owen?"

Another man looked up from a laptop. He was older than Ianto, but still younger than the Brigadier by some distance. Everyone is these days, thought the Brigadier sullenly.

"Yeah," Owen grinned. "Come on down, mate."

The Brigadier did as he was asked, coming down the steps to the right. "What can I help you with?"

"Well… Ianto and I were just wondering where Jack's been for the past three months?" Owen raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"He hasn't told you?"

"Hasn't got round to it yet. We've all kinda been on the go since we got back from the Himalayas day before yesterday."

"Well… I suppose I should fill you in. I think Toshiko is already, but should we wait for the young man?"

"Here, sir." Ianto appeared at the top of the stairs, carrying a steaming mug of tea.

"Thank you." The Brigadier smiled. "Well… you know about the Doctor, don't you?"

"Yeah," Owen nodded. "Jack talks 'bout him all the time."

"Well, that was where he was. With the Doctor. I don't actually remember much of what happened, but Jack does, and can probably fill you in on the details. But the Master… have you heard of him?"

Ianto and Owen glanced uncertainly at each other, before shaking their heads.

"Hmm. Doesn't surprise me. Jack didn't know about him either. He's an alien. He… _tried_ to take over the Earth. That's who we're trying to find."

"So…" Ianto bit his lip. "Jack's been fighting this alien for three months?"

"Well…" The Brigadier stopped. "It's a little difficult to explain really. I'm sure Jack could shed more light on this."

Ianto and Owen glanced at each other. "We don't know when he'll be back," Ianto answered quickly.

Behind the Brigadier there was the sound of the cog door rolling open. "Arh! There you go!" the Brigadier smiled, placing his mug down of the medical bed. "You can ask him now." He smiled again, making his way up the stairs and back into the hub.

Ianto and Owen looked at each other uneasily. "Well," Owen said. "That was a great, bloody load of nothing!"

* * *

The Master's POV:

I approach the downed man slowly, drawing out the feeling of victory. He's cowering away from me and, even though the last time someone did that was on the Valliant, I've missed this sensation.

"Please." He holds up one hand, the other still plastered over his nose. "Don't kill me." His eyes are fixed on the knife.

I toss it from hand to hand, amusing myself with the way his eyes travel. "Why not?" I ask. "You're going to die anyway. You can die in pain, very, _very_ slowly, or you can just let me finish the job. Your choice. Doesn't make a difference to me either way. You'll still be dead, and I'll have still killed you." I smile.

He swallows, coughing up blood. A bit of his bone must have lodged itself in his throat, because it's obvious he can't breathe properly.

I take a step closer. "I can make the pain go away," I say gently. "I can make it stop." I crouch down next to him. "Don't you want it to stop?"

Ever so slowly, he nods. I give him a wide smile, lingering in the moment, because I know with the Doctor, these moments of death are going to be few and far between. He starts to sob, pain appearing in his eyes.

"Ssh." I place my free hand on his shoulder, stilling his shakes. "It'll all be okay." I speak sincerely, and I can see in his eyes that he believes me. I lean forward, until I'm level with his ear, and smile. "Human," I whisper. "Stupid, little human."

He tries to pull away, but he's weak, and my grip on his shoulder is too much. I can see the death that is in my eyes reflected in his. The waves of fear rolling off him practically have me euphoric.

I begin to raise the knife.

"Please."

"Ssh," I say again. "Let me take away the pain."

The knife is _just _pressing against his throat, and all that's needed is one swift swipe to end it. I think I'll draw it out though. I promised a death quicker than the one he would have had otherwise, but I didn't promise it wouldn't be long itself.

That's when I hear the noise. The noise that makes my head snap backwards, my eyes bore into the south wall, and the knife slip from my open hand. The man manages to tug away from me, rolling across the floor, coming to rest against the north wall. Even though he's still alive, I know he won't move again.

I don't care about him though. I cross to the door I came through, throwing myself shoulder first into it again and again, regardless of the pain in my shoulder, ignoring everything but getting through the door.

I'd heard the Doctor scream. All that mattered was getting to him and killing the thing that made him hurt. Only _I_ was allowed to hurt the Doctor.

The next second there's another scream, again from the Doctor, and I redouble my efforts. Only this time there's a word buried beneath the pain. It's a word he would never scream unless he was truly in pain.

"Meyopa!"

_Master__._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Phew! What do people think of the ending? I think maybe it's a little… clichéd? I don't know. Tell me what you think!

Oh yeah, and the Data Matrix I mention is used in the real world. Just thought I'd throw that out there. :)


	12. Take A Picture

**Author's Note: **I got a new laptop today, and this is the first thing I've written on it! Took a bit of getting used to, and I still don't know whether I've configured it right. So if there are any delays with updating, I haven't gone missing, I'm just learning how to work my new computer. :)

I would like to thank **AnGeL oF mAdNeSs**, for helping me on this chapter, and dealing with a rant or two about the lack of official Gallireyan language. :)

* * *

The Master's POV:

I burst through the door, crashing into the splintered table as I'm unable to stop my momentum. Picking myself up slowly, I look left and right down the corridor. There isn't really any way to tell which way the wolf took the Doctor. I wait for a few moments, hoping I'll hear another scream that will lead me to them, but nothing comes. Everything's silent, apart from the quiet sobs of the dying man behind me.

I let out an exasperated sigh, and choose to head right. I make my way down the corridor, trying each of the grey, steel doors as I reach them. None of them budge, and I wish I still had my laser screwdriver. I could get through any of these in seconds.

I reach a corner, and peer round it carefully. There's no way I want my head to be cut off, thank you very much!

The corridor ahead of me is clear though, and I have another choice: straight on or right again. It suddenly dawns on me how hopeless this is. This place is a maze. There's no way I could find the Doctor here. I consider going back to the TARDIS, but that option quickly gets squashed, as I realise I have no idea where the exit is. I was so busy goading the Doctor when we came in, that I didn't think to memorise the route.

I whack my head against the wall, which makes me feel slightly better, before choosing to go straight on.

As I step onto the new route, there's a moment when I think the floor has disappeared. It's so disconcerting and unexpected that I stumble and fall. Only, like my feet, my hands go right through the white, tiled floor, and then stop.

I remain where I am for several seconds, as I try to think what could be happening. If the floor is real, my hands and feet shouldn't disappear, but if it's a hologram, then why have I stopped? Reaching out, I prod the wall I'm leaning against. That's solid enough, at least.

The floor begins to shimmer and move beneath me, but I can't feel it. I try to pull my hands back, but I can't move. Tugging at them, I force myself not to panic, and look around for anything that might help me. I've been fighting against the Doctor for so long, I _must _have picked up some of his MacGyver instinct.

The corridor is _so_ bloody empty though, that I'm actually considering calling for help. Wouldn't _that_ just make the Doctor's day, I think bitterly.

The floor now seems to be rising, or maybe I'm sinking, when another one of those wolves appears around the corner. It looks like the one that was chasing us before, but how do I know if they look all the same or not? I press myself against the wall, hoping that it won't see me. As it's coming down the corridor I'm in, the chances of it not seeing me are about a billion to one.

Sure enough, it cocks its head to the side, staring at me, as I feebly try to free my hands again. When it steps into the corridor, its paws don't sink. In fact, the floor seems to rise to meet it. It stops a few metres from me, and growls.

I can't think of anything better to do, so I growl right back.

The wolf looks shocked and takes a step backwards. "Yeah," I say, hoping I sound more confident than I feel. "That's what I thought. You don't wanna mess with me!"

The wolf makes what sounds like a scoffing noise, which I think is extremely rude. Why can't it just be scared of me? It would be so much easier.

It sits back on its haunches, looking at me as if to say, "I'm so _not_ scared of you, it isn't even funny."

I try to tug my hands away from the floor again, and this time they come free. I scramble backwards away from the wolf, rather disproving my earlier statement. It follows me with its eyes, and I begin to think it might just let me get away. That is, until I feel the solid wall behind me. I _know_ there wasn't a wall there before. It's so _unfair_.

The wolf begins to lope over to me. A few test shoves against the wall prove that it's real all right. It's not going to budge an inch.

The wolf pauses for a moment, putting its head on one side. Then it opens its mouth and _speaks_.

"Are you of the same species as the one who came before you?"

"Uh..." I say, not entirely sure I should be talking to this thing. I have an insane image of the Doctor telling me not to talk to strangers in my head right now, and it's not helping.

The wolf sighs. "You know," it mutters. "For a supposedly advanced race, you aren't half lacking in vocabulary!"

"Hey!" I stand, taking a step forward. If there's anything that can make me forget my fear, it's being insulted. "You're not even _on_ the intelligence scale. You're a dog!"

"Hmm. So you _do_ understand English. You must be a different species then." It nods decisively. "We'll have you too."

"Woah!" I back up slowly, feeling the wall behind me. "I didn't mean you were completely stupid. You actually look very intelligent... and I love dogs! Always have. I was on Earth only recently, and there was this lovely, little pooch my wife had. I can't remember the name, but it was big and strong... maybe it was one of your relatives?"

I have never seen a less impressed wolf. It starts to walk towards me again. "Will you put up more or less of a fight than the other?"

"Um..." I repeat. Come on, I tell myself. The Doctor would have at least five plans by this stage. "I don't know how much fight he... put up?" Even grammar fails me at this stage.

It nods considerately. "Of course. I must ask you that don't run."

I feel like asking where to, but the next thing I know, the wolf has bent down and taken the collar of my jacket in its jaws.

"Put me down!" I roar. The wolf ignores me, bounding off down the corridor.

I'm hanging several feet above the floor, swinging haphazardly from side to side. I can see the wolves' paws thundering along the ground, but that's all. It's quietly comforting that they compliment the drums.

* * *

Tosh crossed the hub, heading towards Jack, who was standing at her computer. She could see the man in military uniform walking to join him, and hid behind Gwen's desk, hoping to catch a nugget of their conversation.

"Haven't you told your team anything?" asked the man.

Jack turned around and narrowed his eyes. "Why? Have you?"

"I managed to avoid most of it. They don't know about the year, but they know the name 'Master' now. They said they knew about the Doctor before."

"What?" Jack shook his head. "Since when?"

"You talk about him all the time apparently." The man leaned around Jack to look at the computer screen. "Nothing seems to be happening."

Taking this as her cue, Tosh left her hiding place. "That's because I've already decoded it."

Jack jumped at her sudden intrusion, which she thought was quite strange, but didn't comment on. "But..." He gestured at the screen. "It's still in... square form."

"Give me your mobile." Tosh held out a hand, taking Jack's phone and holding it close to the screen, clicking the camera button. "There you go." She passed the phone back.

When Jack looked down at it, he wasn't looking at the small black and white squares that still adorned the computer screen. There was instead an image, which shifted and fluctuated with the movement of the person in it.

Jack's breath court in his throat. The Brigadier knew who this was. He didn't know about Toshiko.

The woman he was looking down at, held in a tiny, barely habitable prison cell, was Lucy Saxon.

* * *

The darkness was pressing in from all sides. The pain was steadily getting worse.

The Doctor doesn't even remember stopping screaming, when he hears more growls coming from all sides. Not being able to see his adversaries is scaring him more than the pain is. Sight is the one thing that Time Lords can never lose, and the fact that he is effectively blind places all his power in the hands' of his captors.

"Arapsst mere l'ua." _Reveal your life._

"Chemi?" _Why?_

When had he started speaking in Gallifreyan?

"Arapsst mere l'ua." _Reveal your life._

The voice repeated itself

"Ka lae'zaz forh eri." _Or we will take it._

The voice warned him.

He could feel it moving around in his head. The eyes were blinding him. No, he thought. Get out of my head!

"Kiorgor Arawink." _Very well_.

The voice paused for a moment, giving him a glimmer of hope that they would indeed heed his... warning? Plea? The eyes seemed to dim, but then the voice spoke again.

"Lae'zaz forh." _We will take._

And the Doctor fell into hell.**  
**

* * *

**Author's Note:** The mention the Master makes of 'MacGyver' is a reference to an 80's (I think) TV show by that name. The main character got into all these bad and difficult situations, but always managed to get out by taking whatever natural materials he could find, and turning them into an escape devise. For instance, he once built a bomb with chewing gum, a rocket launcher with a propeller, etc, etc.

The Data Matrix, showing up as the small black and white squares, is really decoded by taking a picture of it. I'm not sure how this works, but the technology I have in this chapter is correct. :)


	13. Traitor

**Author's Note: **My other story, "The Void" is refusing to be written right now, so here's another chapter for this one.

The Matrix I mention in the first scene is _not_ the same thing as the Data Matrix mentioned previously. This Matrix is a part of Time Lord technology, which was heavily referenced in the classic series. It effectively makes Time Lords immortal, taking their consciousnesses when they run out of regenerations, and they live in the Matrix. It is also said to hold the entirety of Time Lord power.

* * *

_Fire was everywhere, burning, melting, cutting, maiming. Rivers of lava flowed steadily across the blackened ground, turning dust to particles in the air, banishing them forever from the planet's surface. Screaming, echoing through the huge buildings, across the landscape, up the mountains, reaching into the heavens to where he was._

_The Doctor's hands were moulded into the rail he was holding, so tightly did he grip. His breath was coming in gasps, if they even made it out of his lungs at all. His chest felt like it was about to implode; something was crushing it, constricting his hearts and cruelly twisting them._

_He could see ant-like figures moving across the shell of the planet, running from the flames. None of them made it, and their screams echoed inside his head._

_Waves of death exploded out of the blue tipped mountains, rushing down the sides, crumbling through the slopes of red grass, moving steadily towards the Citadel._

_He could see the Outsiders, pressed into service when the war had come, now betrayed and left outside the protective case of the force shield. They were screaming, running, but the lava was too fast. It took them, one by one, until there was only one left. It chased the remaining man, snapping at his heels like wild dogs, before tiring of the game, and swallowing him whole._

_The Doctor's hands unclenched from the railing as it turned back towards to the Citadel. He raised his eyes to the sky, taking in the silver ships that sat there. He could feel the power of their weapons powering up. They weren't going to wait for the lava to do the job for them. They wanted to wipe out the Time Lords themselves._

_He could imagine the Supreme Dalek grating out orders on the bridge, his underlings rushing to obey. There were two small pods suddenly jettisoned from the head ship. Time Lord prisoners, returning home for the final time._

_It would have to be now, he thought. There's no time for anything else. He has to do it now._

_The voice of Rassilon echoes in his head. "You will join the ranks of Time Lords defending our home world. You will lay down your life for our race." What he had meant was 'lay down your life for _me_'._

_But he had tried. He had fought on the front line. He had been there when the Crucible fell. He had seen the hopelessness of it all. They were never going to win. The Daleks were going to destroy them._

_The words he remembered from Romana are stronger. As a deposed President, the only way she could ever return to Gallifrey was in a body bag, which she did in the first few weeks of the war. She had given him the device and told him, "This is a trigger. It's set to detonate a bomb, buried in the Matrix. It will destroy Gallifrey, and anything within ten million miles of it. If we fall... use it. Don't let them take us."_

_The Doctor clenched his fists together, tears free falling down his face. Why him? Why did _he _have to be the one? Why couldn't he have been like any of the other children? Why had he been different, and longed for the stars? If someone else had been chosen, then they might have had the courage to destroy the Daleks on Skaro before they were even created. If someone different had stolen a TARDIS and run off to the stars, maybe they would have found a way to save the Time Lords, long before _this_ was made necessary. If..._

_Looking down at the button that would end everything, he found himself laughing at how inconsequential it seemed. It was tiny, lost in a mass of levers and screens. Would that button really destroy Gallifrey, not only taking the Time Lords with it, but also the Matrix? He really would be committing genocide. Double genocide, he reminded himself. The Daleks were here too._

_That's what makes his finger finally stab down. If the Daleks are destroyed, then there will be no more exterminations. So he puts the universe ahead of his beautiful planet, just as he has always done. Always will._

_Crossing back to the observation platform, he resumes his grip on the railing. He watches as bomb after bomb rains down on Gallifrey from the Dalek ships. Before they can make contact though, everything stops, just hanging in time. The Matrix is imploding, reaching out and drawing every Time Lord into it, hungry._

_He can find it tugging at his mind, but within the TARDIS he is protected. Otherwise, the Matrix would discover the bomb switch and save itself. It matters not to the Matrix that its creators would be destroyed. All it can think of is survival. The Doctor can relate to that._

_The lava turns green, as the Matrix moves through it, sliding upwards towards the Citadel. The Doctor closes his eyes, feeling the screams of people he once would have called brothers and sisters, who now die in the raging inferno._

_He turns away, glancing at the Dalek ships, fighting for control as they too are sucked towards the planet. He won't stay to the end. He never has in the past, and he likes it that way._

_Even so, at the other end of the universe, the scream of Rassilon as he dies, rising above all the others, will haunt him for the rest of his lives._

"_Doctor! You traitor!"_

"Stop!" The Doctor's arms were once again stuck to his sides, as he fought a hopeless battle with the thing in his head. "Stop! Please!"

"Mer'zaz apshes arapsst mere l'ua. Arapsst'vae lae'zaz endis." _You will not reveal your life. Reveal and we will stop._

The Doctor tried to stop the tears that were flowing down his face, reigning in his emotions with a sob, but his speech was still fractured. "Tell me... who you are. Then... maybe I... will."

"Lae'mu sendas." _We are animals._

"What does that mean?" he screamed.

The voice paused, the eyes dimming a little.

"Chemi dou'ka mer'apshes larai Gallifreya?" _Why do you not __speak Gallifreyan?_

The Doctor screamed again, lashing out with his mind, putting all his strength behind a blow that should fell every sentient being within the complex. At the last second he remembers the Master, and reigns back the energy focused on him, but not before a small sliver escapes.

The eyes in his head are now the ones roaring in pain. He holds them where they are, forcing more and more energy onto them, before throwing them out, locking his mind tightly, and curling up into a rigid ball, letting the tears return.

* * *

Lucy was sleeping when the guard rapped on the bars of the door to her cell. She pulled herself into a standing position wearily, staring straight ahead.

The guard entered a second later, gesturing with a gun. "Move."

She obeyed. At first she had resisted them, but after a few beatings, she had realised that these were the worst of humanity, and they felt no pity for her. When she told them what she thought of them, they laughed, and said she was being a hypocrite, what with all the things she did when on the Valliant.

The guard took her down a long corridor, ending in the exercise room, which was also used as an interrogation room when members of the government needed something. She had spent a long, hard week in here, answering endless questions, and was now kept. Not even the lower regions of the government knew she's here, let alone UNIT or Torchwood. She had been forgotten.

The guard motioned roughly towards a table at the far end of the room. She walked over to it, keeping her head bent, only glancing at the man who is sat there when she too was seated. It wasn't bright to give any indication that she was threatening these people.

The man wore a charcoal grey suit with a red tie. He had his hands neatly folded across his chest. His eyes were icy blue, but somehow held a friendly quality. When he spoke, his voice was deep and he seemed to consider his words carefully before speaking.

"Lucy... may I call you Lucy?"

She nodded. This was just another government agent, trying to lull her into a false sense of security.

"Good... Lucy." He smiled, seemingly undiscouraged when she didn't return it. "I heard about your little... tryst with Harold Saxon. And I was wondering..." Here it comes, thought Lucy. The questions, the threats, the barely concealed hostility when he didn't get what he wanted. "Do you know where he is?"

She remained silent, knowing she would be merely wasting her breath if she were to say no.

"Hmm. Of course you do not." He was silent for a few moments, then spoke again. We will just take you then." Her eyes snapped up at this, but his were fixed on the guard over her shoulder.

He lent forwards, elbows resting on the table top between them, and smiled again. "Tell me, Lucy. Would you like to escape?"

* * *

The Master's POV:

I've crossed my arms over my chest in an act of defiance. Unfortunately, suspended as I am, I know it probably just looks silly. I've tried to free myself from the jaws of the wolf, but every time I get anywhere close the jaws shunt down a fraction, which quickly puts a stop to that idea.

"Where are you taking me?" I demand, swinging dangerously close to a wall as the wolf holding me bounds round it.

There's a muffled response that I can't make out. I'm about the ask again, when we round another corner, and all thoughts of killing all canines (including that _infernal_ mechanical one of the Doctor's) leave my head.

In front of me, I sees the wolf that took the Doctor. It's standing in the centre of the corridor, paw raised. Its paw is resting on the Doctor's chest. The Doctor's arms resting at his sides like a robot, fists clenched. He's hanging in mid-air, simply floating.

Tears are running down his face, which is twisting, his eyes dancing beneath his eye lids.

"What the hell are you doing to him?" I shout.

"We are revealing life. We are taking it."

I begin fight savagely to get away as the wolf holding me brings me closer. "Get off--" My threat is cut short. The Doctor opens his mouth and screams. And I don't mean a normal scream. This scream is bone chilling. His hands unpin themselves from his sides and fly to the wolf's paw on his chest, tearing it off.

I expect the wolf to leap right back, but instead it folds to the ground, as does the one holding me. Dropping to the floor, I roll quickly away, and feel the energy of a Time Lord's mind pause. The _Doctor's_ mind.

It looks at the wolves, lying motionless, and then turns its attention to me. I winces as it moves around me, but a second later it's gone, sweeping down the corridor and away.

I rise shakily, not trusting my legs, and lean against the wall. Maybe the Doctor finds it easier to hurt things if they're in animal form. If they had been humans, he would never have done what he just did. I can't help the shiver of excitement that runs through me at the Doctor's anger, and I'm not even sure I wants to stop it.

Turning my head to the side, I watch the Doctor, who's still hanging in the air, unmoving. The wolf behind him is twitching. When it stops, the Doctor starts to drop like a stone towards the floor. I lunge forward automatically, hoping to catch him. He won't be of any use to me if he's got a broken leg, after all.

But before I can get there, a red light slices over me. I see the machine on the floor, encompassing half of the corridor in its dark light. That part of the corridor is the part that holds the Doctor and, now, me.

It makes me freeze, and the Doctor meets the ground with a sickening thump.

Because of the drums, I don't notice it at once. If I could, then maybe I could have fought it off. Two spots of light appear in front of my eyes, blinking at me. It's looking through my head, and there's not a thing I can do to stop it. It moves through my defences like they're not there, and it's terrifying. Whenever I've had someone in my head, they've hurt me, and this is no exception.

The eyes become brighter, and are moving into the drums. There's a cracking noise as they merge with them, and the next thing I know, the drums have exploded.

I scream with pain, as white hot needles shoot through my head. I feel myself fall with a bang onto the floor. I can't move. Rassilon, I can't move!

There's a pause in the eyes, and then:

"You will travel."

* * *

**Author's Note: **The Outsiders I mention is the first scene, is a reference to a group of Gallifreyansin the classic series. They rejected the Time Lord technological way of life, and instead chose to live outside of the Gallireyan Citadel, leading a more primitive life.

The mention I make of the Doctor destroying the Daleks before their creation, is a reference to a 4th Doctor classic series' story, where the Time Lords select him to go to Skaro (the Dalek's home world, which was destroyed in the 7th Doctor's reign) and stop the creation of the Daleks. He manages to place a bomb there, but stops himself at the last moment, because he believes he doesn't have the right to end a species' existence.

I modelled the interrogation room Lucy is in on the one Tosh was kept in before Jack rescued her, which gives those who've seen Torchwood a point of reference. :)

The line: 'Rassilon, I can't move!', thought by the Master, is the same as saying: 'God, I can't move!', as Rassilon was worshipped as a god in the classic series. I've used it here as an exclamation of fear.

Phew! There was a lot I had to explain in this chapter. I think I got everything, but if there are any questions you want to ask, don't hesitate to ask them. :)

Review?


	14. Not Worth It

**Author's Note: **Thank you to **AnGel oF mAdNeSe** for pointing out a Classic Who reference I didn't explain in the previous chapter. I mentioned Romana, who gave the Doctor the controls to destroy the Matrix, and therefore Gallifrey. She was a companion of the 4th Doctor, and was sent by the Time Lords to help him in a quest to recover the Key to Time (but that's a whole different story XD). She was also a Time Lord, and left the Doctor when she volunteered to stay in E-space, where she would be trapped. She returned in a Doctor Who novel, and became the President of Gallifrey. I presumed that she had been deposed, as Rassilon was obviously the President in the "End of Time".

* * *

The Master's POV:

The drums are rattling out their beat, pulled into one continuous drone at the back of my head, fed by the light. They're blinking, drawing my power from me. The pain has become worse as the drums rise again. They're fighting the light, I realise. There's a battle being waged in my head, and... it hurts!

I can still feel the floor I'm lying on, but I can't see anything but the light. I know I have my eyes open; I just can't see. That doesn't scare me as much as what the drums are doing though. I've never thought of them as a sentient being, and what they're doing now, fighting off the invaders, fighting for _me_, is making me dizzy. And not in a good way. I feel sick, like I'm floating in the vortex, only I'm lying still, unmoving.

The light begins to shrink, though it doesn't dim. I push the drums forward, ignoring their poundings. I think, 'Kill! Destroy!', and they obey me. They attack the light, sending it spiralling backwards in an arc of pain.

The last thing I hear before the drums force the light out of my head is, "What are you?"

"Time Lord," I snarl. With one final shove, the light is gone from my head, and I can see again. I'm face down in the same corridor I left. Gives 'travelling' a disappointing edge, I think, pushing myself up.

I glance up and down the corridor. It's empty, even the red light machine gone, along with the wolves. How long was I unconscious?

Pulling myself up the wall, I groan as the drums return, louder than before, as if the break in their beat hurt them, and they need to remind me the pain they can cause me, and who's the boss here. I close my eyes, and take several deep, measured breaths. Then I remember the Doctor.

My eyes fly open, hoping against hope he's still unconscious. Weakness isn't something anyone wants to display around their captor.

He's still lying where he dropped though, twitching every now and again. His face is deathly pale, and I can see tear tracks running down his face. I consider leaving him there. The bracelet isn't on my wrists anymore, even if it was ever activated. I was an idiot to think he could ever kill me. He's too weak. I sneer at his unconscious body. The wolves and the light would come back and keep him here, and eventually he'd break from whatever they were doing to him. I could run, get to his TARDIS, and fly away. She would work for me, I know. It's coded into her to obey all Time Lords, and no matter how much she dislikes me, she can't ignore her programming.

But I'm also curious to know what they were doing to him that made him lose control. If I can find out what that is, it will be an invaluable weapon.

I approach him cautiously. He's still twitching, he left fist clenching and unclenching, his face shaking uncontrollably. I kneel carefully by his head, placing my fingertips on his temples, and close my eyes, entering his mind slowly.

_I can smell fire. Lava. Burning. Death._

_I can hear screaming._

_I can feel people dying beneath the blaze._

_There are voices buried beneath the haze of pain and tears._

"_Lay down your life..."_

"_...set to detonate a bomb, buried... Don't let them..."_

I frown, pushing deeper, not understanding what this place is. There are now flashes of images moving through my mind.

_Ships, sleek and silver._

_A button, small and meaningless._

_Red turning to green. Waves rolling down blue and through red._

My fingers press harder against the Doctor's skull, and he lets out a whimper. I can hear him talking, but it's as if he's somehow seperate from what I'm seeing.

"_This is the worst, most traumatic memory they could find."_

_An image of his TARDIS console. I can see the small button buried amongst the controls._

"_This is the one thing that will make me... kill myself. The one thing that I choose not to remember."_

That's when I realise he's speaking to me. He knows I'm inside his head.

"_I never wanted you to see this. Because there's a reason you weren't there. Only I could have done it. You wouldn't have let me."_

"What?" I ask.

"_I'm sorry..."_

_His voice fades, and the images flash faster and faster._

_One of his old bodies, which I recognise as his eighth, crying, clawing at the TARDIS console. He's screaming, curling up into a ball and roaring with pain._

_A place without stars, where he comes to hide. He stands at the doorway of the TARDIS._

_And... flings himself out._

I jerk back, gasping. He's kneeling in front of me now, and I skitter backwards, away from him. He's looking at me with that sorrowful look, that's so full of apology I could never truly understand it.

I realise I'm gasping, and force myself to regain control.

He merely looks at me. "I'm sorry."

I shake my head, somehow not as angry as I feel I should be. "You can never apologise for what you did."

He nods. "I choose not to remember. It destroyed me once... but you got one thing right, I guess." A small smile appears on his lips. "Things that destroy you aren't worth living for."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Sorry, there's only one scene, but it seemed the perfect place to end this chapter. I'll do a longer next one. :)

The 8th Doctor I reference was played by Paul McGann, and only featured in one on-screen story. It was never fully detailed in cannon how this Doctor regenerated, so I have made it so that this was the regeneration that fought in the Time War, and killed himself after it.

Hope everyone likes!


	15. The Devil Is In The Absense

**Author's Note: **Sorry for the long wait, guys. I recently tore my left shoulder ligaments, and have found it very painful to type. I've managed to type this one handed, which is why it's taken me so long. I don't know when my shoulder will have healed, so I don't know when next I'll be able to update.

But I'm not going to abandon my stories or anything like that. Promise.

To make up for being away for so long, here's a nice long chapter. Review? :)

* * *

The Master and the Doctor were still staring at each other. Only a few minutes had passed but the tension in the corridor had risen to almost breaking point. They were still crouched on the floor, squaring off with an expanse of pale white floor separating them.

"Who gave you the bomb?" the Master asked suddenly.

The Doctor blinked, their spell broken. "Romana."

"Huh," the Master sneered. "Our fearless Madame President."

The Doctor honestly didn't know what correcting him would achieve, so remained silent.

"Why did you do it?"

The Doctor stared at the Master. He had a kind of sadness in his eyes, which the Doctor didn't want to associate with the Master. "There was no choice."

"There's always a choice," the Master spat, rising to his feet. The Doctor remained where he was. "You could have found another way. You always did before."

The Doctor took a deep breath, lowering his eyes to the floor. "Don't you understand?" He looked up. "It was over. The Daleks were winning. They were going to destroy us."

The Master swallowed roughly, turning away. "I'm going back to the TARDIS."

"Wait." The Doctor hauled himself up, wincing at the pain in his head, and followed the Master, pulling himself along by the wall. Catching up with the other man, he caught the Master's arm, but was roughly shaken off. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to keep going as the Master rounded a corner, moving out of sight.

Another bolt of pain rushed through the Doctor's head and he cried out, doubling over again. Why me, he thought? How had the Master been able to resist? He was meant to be stronger than the Master; that's how this worked.

Another wash of pain came, and he felt an unwelcome tugging at his mind. He turned slowly, still leaning against the wall, and watched as the light rounded a corner down the other end of the corridor. There was nowhere to go; he couldn't outrun this thing, the Master was gone... and there was_ no way_ he was going to call for the Master again.

* * *

Lucy had been pacing her cell for the last 7.23 minutes. The cell was exactly 8 steps long and 7 steps wide. The bed took up 5 steps width and 8 steps length. There was nothing else in the cell.

It had been 8.45 minutes since she had been put back in her cell, and her thoughts had not left the man who had offered her freedom. She had taken in every detail: the grey suit, ironed flat, the red tie, with a stain near the end that would never come out, the blue eyes, wary and cautious, almost as if she was something to be feared, the deep voice, rolling syllables off the man's tongue with ease.

He had seemed perfectly normal. Just another bureaucrat, out to make a name for himself by finding the infamous Harold Saxon. But when he had offered a way out, she had seen something behind his eyes. A kind of self assurance that she couldn't say no. Well, of course she couldn't. Look at where she was. But it was more than that. He was the kind of man that didn't take prisoners, couldn't bear to be outsmarted. A little like Har... the Master.

Lucy stopped pacing, moving to sit down on the mattress that was spread across the floor. The man had told her he would come back tomorrow and would expect an answer then. What would happen to her if she didn't say yes? Surely nothing could be as bad as where she currently was.

She sighed and lay down, pulling a thin blanket over her shoulders. The pipes were creaking and spluttering around her, but she had long since learnt to block them out. She needed all the sleep she could get.

"_It's... it's beautiful." Lucy walked up the ramp into the control room. Harry Saxon followed her, smiling. "But... how is it so big?" Lucy asked, looking back at him. "It was tiny on the outside."_

_Harry raised his eyebrows. "It's very complicated, my dear. Don't worry. You're perfectly safe."_

_Lucy resumed her walk, circling the console. "What does it do?" she asked in an awed whisper._

"_She's a ship." Harry moved behind her, drawing her into an embrace. "She travels through time and space."_

_Lucy laughed. "Funny." She pulled away from Harry and moved round the console again, running her fingers across the buttons and levers._

_Harry made a noise that sounded like, 'How the hell does the Doctor do this?' and followed. "I'm serious." He caught her arm. "She's called the TARDIS... She'll go anywhere."_

_As Lucy glanced back at the console there was a rumble from deep within it, as if to say 'no' to Harry. "Are... are you being serious?" she stuttered._

_Harry nodded. "Yes." He smiled. "Deadly serious."_

_Lucy looked back at him, still not sure if this was a joke or not. "Okay." She crossed her arms. "Take me somewhere."_

_A light lit up behind Harry's eyes, dancing. "Your wish is my command." He began moving round the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. "Welcome to the end of everything."_

_Before Lucy could say anything about that decidedly disturbing sentence, there was a jolt from beneath her, making her grab onto the console with both hands._

_"There we go." Harry stroked the console lovingly. "A much better landing than any he could have done."_

_"Who's_ 'he'_?" Lucy asked, still holding onto the console._

_Harry remained far away for a minute, before suddenly extending a hand to her. "Doesn't matter. Take my hand. Let me show you the universe."_

_Lucy bit her lip, strangely thinking that her cat would need feeding soon, but took his hand anyway. He led her to the doors through which they'd entered the machine, and he threw them open. Lucy gasped. The black of space stretched out in front of her, endless._

"_Where are we?"_

_Harry stepped up beside her. "The end of the universe."_

_She scoffed without thinking. "The universe is infinite."_

_Harry turned to her. "Not since Logopolis."_

"_What's that?"_

_He shook his head. "Never mind. Come on. I want to show you something." He raised a foot, and looked to step outside of the TARDIS._

"_Harry!"_

_He froze. "What?"_

"_That's space!"_

_He looked at her. There seemed to be a pitying look in his eyes, but it was gone a second later. "There's a force shield." He took her hand. "I've got you. You're safe with me." He smiled._

_Lucy took a deep breath, watching as Harry stepped out of the doors. As she followed him, a slight tingling started moving across her skin. She ignored it as nerves. Harry led her around the TARDIS, to the back, and pointed._

There was a planet below them, dark and grey, covered in what looked like rocks. But Harry was pointing at a rocket, moving slowly away from the planet's surface. "The darkness is coming," he said.

_Lucy glanced at him, beginning to feel afraid. "Harry? What is this place?"_

_He turned to face her. "I'll show you." He lifted his hands to her face, fingers settling on her temples, and pushed._

_Her mind instantly exploded with images._

A man, old and worn out, hearing something in his head. "All my life. Every waking moment. This _noise_."

Another man, younger this time, wearing a long brown coat. The first man took the second man's hand. "Good. Good." "It's good apparently."

A woman, small and dark skinned, sprinting down a corridor. "He's got this watch. A fob watch... just like yours."

A third man, well muscled. Only this one was different. Energy echoed from him. It made Lucy feel sick. He was pressing buttons on a control panel. "You might not be the only one left."

The woman. "Isn't that good?"

The man with the brown coat. "Yeah. Yeah, course it is. Depends which one."

Someone in makeup. A woman, blue skinned, holding a gun.

The brown coated man, shouting. "Let me in! We're the only two left. There's no one else!"

Another voice, with no image. "I am... the Master."

A scream. A bolt of lightning. A key fitting in a lock but not turning. Fading from sight... pain, drums, regeneration. New, old, young, strong, death, life.

_Lucy fell away from Harry, holding her head. He was at her side in an instant. She was crying. "Harry... this is the end of everything. The universe dies. Everything that happens... it doesn't mean anything. My race is going to die out." She looked up at him, pleading. "Help me."_

_He took her in his arms, holding her close. "It's all right." He began stroking her hair. "I'm here. Everything's going to be okay. You're never going to have to be alone again."_

By the time the man had arrived the next morning, Lucy's mind was made up.

* * *

The Master pulled himself from the Doctor's grip, and practically threw himself round the nearest corner, still moving. He just couldn't deal with the Doctor right now. When they got back to the TARDIS, he would have some space, some time to think things through. But right now, the only thing he wanted was to get away from the man who had destroyed the only home he had ever known.

The drums were pounding in his head, strong once again. They seemed different though, as if someone had shattered them and put them back together, without quite knowing how they worked.

He came to a halt as _the_ signal ripped through his mind, distorting the drums even further. The drums seemed to consider the noise, then retreated, knowing it wasn't a threat. The Master ground his teeth together. He had no wish to go anywhere near the Doctor at the moment, but he _was_ the only one who could fly the TARDIS, and the Master needed him because of that, if he was going to get there in time.

Gritting his teeth, he turned back the way he'd come. Bloody Doctor, he thought. Why couldn't he keep up?

* * *

"Isn't that... the PM's wife?" Toshiko asked, a note of incredulity appearing in her voice.

The Brigadier nodded silently. He watched as Lucy stopped pacing her small room, and settled down on the thin mattress taking up one side of the room. He had no idea that she was being kept in these conditions. As he glanced at Jack, he could tell the Captain hadn't either. Lucy might have been married to one of the greatest threats the world had ever known, but she was still a human being. One that had probably been hypnotised by the Master, the Brigadier reasoned, and none of their own deserved to live like that.

He turned to Toshiko. "Do you know where the image is coming from?"

The woman swallowed, tearing her eyes away from the mobile, and back to the computer. "If I can locate the satellite the signal's bouncing off of, I can trace it back to its source."

Jack looked up from his mobile. "You know..." He shook his head. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" He directed the question at the Brigadier. Toshiko didn't even turn round.

"I didn't know she wa..."

"You expect me to believe that!" Jack shouted. The Brigadier saw the two men who he had been talking to before, Ianto and Owen, come out of the medical area and begin to walk towards them.

"Why shouldn't you?" The Brigadier asked quietly.

Jack scoffed. "Because it's always the same. You bloody humans will kill anyone who disagrees you, whether they're your own or not."

There was a sudden silence in the hub, all three men staring at Jack. Toshiko remained fixed on her computer screen. Had he heard that right, thought the Brigadier? "Are you saying you aren't human?"

A dangerous look appeared in Jack's eyes. "Try and lock _me_ up in a small, dark room, and we're going to have major problems." He squared up to the Brigadier.

"Sorry to interrupt your..." Tosh turned round. "Well... whatever it is that you're doing." The Brigadier scowled. "But I've found the satellite that was supplying the signal rebound platform. It led me to a remote in..." A few taps of the keyboard. "Sussex."

Owen, who had moved to Jack's side, as had Ianto, blinked. "That was... random."

Toshiko continued. "I can't get past the blocks there though. There must be someone on the other end, monitoring the connection. As soon as anyone gets close, deliberately or not, they cut the signal, and swtitch satellites."

"Can they tell you're trying to get in?" Ianto asked, still staring at the Brigadier. He and Owen were flanking Jack, making sure the Brigadier knew not to try anything.

"Well... I'm sure they can see the IP addresses so, if I keep going, it's only a matter of time before they make the connection that I keep popping up."

Jack's phone rang suddenly. He lifted it to his ear, signalling for quiet. "Hello?"

"Is this Captain Harkness?" came the reply.

"Yes," Jack answered cautiously. "Who is this?"

"I am the Collector. Do not bother trying to trace this call. I am not using a satellite.

"What do you want?"

Jack heard a light chuckle. "I am a civilised man, Captain. I do what I do because I love the universe." There was a pause. "But I am also dangerous. Do not think I am exaggerating. I have killed many men."

Jack didn't know who the hell this random person was, but he didn't have time for idiots right now. "Either tell me what you want or sod off!"

Jack heard a sniff. "I am giving you a warning. I am aware that you have broken the Data Matrix code. I have certain... interests in property that you will_ not_ take from me. If you get in my way, you will suffer. Do you understand?"

"What do you mean by 'your property?"

"Property," the man stated. "Something of value that is owned." There was a pause. "It is mine simple because I wish it to be. I will find the value and I will leave. But..." Jack could feel a threat coming. "You also interest me. However, you are not the prey in this hunt. If you remain silent then I will leave without harming you or your compatriots in any way."

"Who is your property?" Jack asked.

"That is none of your concern, Captain." There was a crackle from Toshiko's computer, and the monitor shut down. The man continued. "I suggest you warn your friends not to tamper with anything further. If you remain in your base, and allow me to take my property, the Earth will remain intact."

"And if I don't?" Jack signalled Toshiko not to try and turn her computer back on.

"I am going to have to leave you now, Captain. The time is at hand, and I must be ready. The answer to your question is in the absence. Do not forget that."

* * *

**Author's Note: **The Master's line: "Not since Logopolis", is a reference to a 4th Doctor story, entitled 'Logopolis', which is also the 4th Doctor's last story. There's a planet called Logopolis that apparently holds the entire universe together with their mathematics. The Master destroyed Logopolis, and therefore started the collapse of the universe. Several billion miles of space were swallowed up into nothingness.

I've never been entirely sure how the Doctor stopped this, even though I've watched it about ten times, but that is where the quote comes from.

I chose Sussex as the place from where the signal would be traceable to because that is where Lucy grew up. I thought it would be fitting.

**Disclaimer: **All quotes taken from "Utopia" are not mine.


	16. Be The Means To An End

**Author's Note: **I managed to type this out at 2am this morning, dosed up on painkillers. Hope everyone enjoys. :)

* * *

As Jack hung up the phone, tapping it against his free hand distractedly, Ianto nudged him. "Who was that?"

Jack bit his lip, whispering under his breath. "The answer is in the absence. The answer is in the absence."

"Jack?"

He looked up. "Do a search for that phrase, Tosh. 'The answer is in the absence.'"

Toshiko nodded and turned back to her computer, moving to one of the monitors that hadn't switched itself off.

"Who was that?" Ianto repeated.

"The "Collector" apparently. Don't think he's human."

"We don't have time for unimportant aliens right now," argued the Brigadier. "We need to find where Mrs. Saxon is being held, and if she knows anything about the whereabouts of the Master."

"No." Jack shook his head. "This guy knew about the Data Matrix. And I think he's the one on the other end of the connection thing. He was talking about his 'property'."

"Do you think he meant this bird?" Owen asked.

Jack thought for a moment, before turning to Toshiko. "What have you got?"

"Real estate and Obama talking about withdrawing troops from Afghanistan."

"Damn it!" Jack dropped his phone onto the desk, running the conversation back through his mind.

"_And if I don't?"_

"_I am going to have to leave you now, Captain. The time is at hand, and I must be ready. The answer to your question is in the absence. Do not forget that."_

"Absence..." Jack repeated. "Absence..." He blinked suddenly. "Who's not here?"

"The Doctor." The Brigadier began to tick people off on his fingers. "The Master--"

"Gwen!" Owen interrupted. "She was here when you two were outside. Where is she now?"

Toshiko began tapping away at her computer, as Ianto retrieved Jack's phone.

"I can't find her on anyway of the CCTV cameras." Tosh shook her head. "She's not in the Hub or the Plaza."

They all turned to Ianto, who had Jack's phone held tightly against his ear. After a moment, he lifted it down, pressed a few more buttons, and put it back to his ear. A few more seconds passed before, "She's not answering her mobile, and there's no reply from her home ph..." He trailed off. "Wait a second." He listened intently for a few moments. "Um... yeah, mate. I know it's 2:30 in the morning. Only... this is a friend of Gwen's and..."

The Brigadier sent a frown Jack's way. "He doesn't know about Torchwood," Jack whispered.

"Good," the Brigadier replied. "I'm glad you're not just throwing our secret around."

Ianto rolled his eyes at something Rhys said. "Yeah, I work with her. She's told me your name."

Jack groaned. "Give me the phone!" Snatching it out of Ianto's hand, he cut across Rhys who could be heard complaining about 'bloody inconsiderate people'. "Shut up! I know it's early in the morning. I just thought you'd like to know that something's happened to your girlfriend!"

"Loudspeaker." Ianto nudged him.

Rhys could now be heard clearly. "What the bloody hell are you talking about?"

"Gwen," Jack stated. "Where is she?"

"She's right here. Sleeping."

Jack gave Ianto a worried look. "You mean..."

"Yeah. You woke me up for nothing."

"Can you see her at this second?" Toshiko asked.

"Why do think I'm whispering?" Rhys was obviously running out of patience. "I'll get her to call you in the morning. All right?!" Not waiting for an answer, he hung up.

Jack groaned. "I'm gonna get slapped in the morning."

The Brigadier, ignoring the smirks being exchanged between Jack and Ianto, spoke. "So it's either the Master or the Doctor he wants?"

"Must be." Jack nodded, lifting his phone to his ear again. "I'll call Martha. She can give me the Doc's number."

* * *

Martha was sitting at her kitchen table, nursing a mug of tea, when the mobile she always carried in her front pocket rang. A sorry tune filled the room.

"Hello?" she asked wearily. Ever since the Doctor had left without so much as a backward glance, life really hadn't seemed worth living. During 'the year', she had convinced herself that she had got over him, that she was just as important as he was in the run of things.

But that day on the Valliant, she had seen that he cared about the Master a lot more than her, or her species. A guard, the only one still loyal to the Master at the time, had knocked him out. When he'd come round, Jack had already ordered the Master to be taken down to Earth and locked up.

The Doctor had sprinted out of the room and hadn't answered her frantic calls, disappearing into the TARDIS.

"Hey, Martha," came the reply. "It's Jack."

That brought a slight smile to her face. "Hey, Jack. What's up?"

There was a pause. "We think the Doctor might be in trouble."

Martha frowned. That would explain why she hadn't heard from him, she thought. "What do you want me to do?"

"Do you have his number by any chance?"

Martha blinked. "Does he even have a phone?"

"Yeah," Jack sighed. "It's a cord-phone on the console."

"No, I don't." Martha got up, shrugging on her jacket. "Isn't there any other way you can contact him?"

"No," Jack replied. "Short of trying to blow up the Earth. That might attract his attention."

Martha picked up her keys, scribbled a quick note to her family, and left the house. "You think the Master's escaped?"

"I... I don't know." Martha heard a sigh. Jack sounded extremely tired.

"You should get some sleep, Jack." She opened the door of her car. "I'm coming up to Cardiff. I should be there about 7am. We can worry about everything then, yeah?"

"Mmm." Jack didn't sound too convinced, but seemed to concede the point. "Okay. Drive safe, Martha."

"I will." She smiled as she hung up. She had missed this.

As she pulled away from the driveway, she was too busy thinking about what she would say to the Doctor when she next saw him, to notice the headlights that appeared in her mirror, or the car that stayed behind her for the whole journey, never drifting more than three cars away.

* * *

Rhys placed the phone back on the table, turning back to the living room. "Happy?" he addressed the man in the grey suit, who was holding a gun to an unconscious Gwen's head.

"Very happy, Mr. Williams. Now... if you would be kind enough to open the front door, we can all leave. If the Captain is sensible he will not interfere with my plans, and you will not be harmed. You are merely the means to an end. Me having you will stop the Captain from trying to protect my property. Now..." The man motioned towards the door. "Move."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Toshiko finding "real estate and Obama talking about withdrawing troops from Afghanistan" when searching the phrase 'the answer is in the absence' is simply the first two things I found when imputing the phrase into the Google search engine. The quote was not directly used in either of these subjects though, so I still claim to be behind thinking it up. ;)

Just as a reminder to everyone, the story at this point is taking place at the end of Doctor Who season 3 and Torchwood season 1. Therefore, Rhys doesn't know what Torchwood is, he and Gwen aren't married yet, and Martha (having not had her goodbye scene) didn't give the Doctor her mobile.


	17. Time King

**Author's Note: **As those of you who are reading my other Doctor Who story, "The Void", will know, my arm's 100% better, and I am once again on the writing warpath. :)

However, the updates for my stories will now be once every 4 days, as opposed to every 2 days, which is what it was before my arm's injury.

**28/02/10 - **Has now been beta-ed by **Paisley Skies**. A thank you to her. :)

* * *

The wolf within the light echoed. "It is dangerous, my lord. It hurt us."

The light hissed, moving closer to the prone form of the Doctor. *_We require the knowledge it holds. You saw it. It can help us*_

The wolf whimpered. "But we are scared, my lord. It is a Satimero Dialaen." _Time King._

*_It hurt not only us, but our people! Revenge is required by our laws. Obey!*_

The wolf swallowed, then bowed its head in obedience. "I obey, my lord. We shall take him."

The light moved from the wolf, gliding forward, circling the Doctor. _*Where is the other?*_

"He ran, my lord."

The light growled. _*We will absorb this one first*_

* * *

The Master stalked down the corridor, back the way he had come, going as slowly as possible. If the Doctor came round the corner up ahead, he'd have time to turn around and look like he was still leaving. He scowled as he reached the corner, and there was still no sign of the Doctor.

He shook his head as he turned the corner, stopping mid-shake when his forehead came into contact with something solid. "Phian!" he swore sharply, pulling back.

Glancing up, after checking he wasn't bleeding, he came face to face with a glass wall that he was certain hadn't been there before. It stretched across the corridor from wall to wall, completely blocking his progress.

Squinting through glass, the Master could make out the form of the Doctor, half crouched, facing away from him, eyes fixed on a point further up the corridor. The Master started searching for a way through the glass barricade as he saw the light round the corner again. What the hell _was_ that, he thought?

It moved steadily towards the Doctor, before pausing, and the Doctor collapsed. A few seconds later the light was moving again, sweeping up the corridor towards the Doctor, its intentions clear.

"Doctor!" The Master fell back on brute strength and began throwing himself shoulder first into the glass. Unfortunately, his strength had never been the best, and all he got out of his effort was a bruised shoulder.

"Doctor," he repeated his shout, hammering on the glass. The Doctor seemed to be unconscious, and the light either couldn't hear him or ignored him completely.

It reached the Doctor, and the Master could hear a faint growl coming from it, like the sound a predator would make just before the kill.

The Master used the last thing he could possibly think of. He reached out with his mind, pushing through the light before it knew what was happening, and mentally screamed at the Doctor. "Idiot!"

The Master was half relieved, half immensely amused, when _that_ caused the Doctor to bounce off the floor like he'd been shot. Freezing, the Doctor's head turned slowly towards the light. The Master swallowed, as he recognised something very dangerous beneath those eyes. Forcing its way into their minds was the worst thing the light could have done, he realised, as the Doctor put his head on one side, studying the light.

The light growled again. *Satimero Dialaen* _Time King_

"What do you want with us?" the Doctor replied.

*Lae'zaz sondink mer!* _We will crush you!_

The thoughts of the light rang out loudly, somehow magnified by the glass. The Master watched as the light shot towards the Doctor, who dropped beneath it and rolled. Before the Master could make the point that it would have been much better if the Doctor had run _away_ from the glass blockade, the Doctor was in front of it.

"Ah," he said.

"Ya think?!" the Master growled. "What do you plan to do now?"

"Well..." The Doctor grinned. "You came back, didn't you?"

There was a pause where the Master desperately searched for an excuse. He finally settled on, "You _are_ the only one who can fly the TARDIS, you idiot."

"And why..." the Doctor ducked suddenly, and the light hit the glass with a crack, making the Master yelp and stumble backwards. "Did you feel the need to come check if I was following or not, if you were perfectly happy to wait by the TARDIS earlier?"

The Master rolled his eyes. "You think I'm wandering around Judoon HQ without my Time Lord shield?"

"I..." The Doctor yelled loudly as the floor gave way beneath his feet. The light pulled itself back, smothering the glass so the Master couldn't see what was going on.

Unlike the Doctor, who would have wasted valuable energy dancing from side to side to try and see what was going on, the Master simply stood still, tapped his foot, and waited. The Doctor would have also been killing himself with worry, which was something else the Master was _not_ doing.

This, however, might not have been the best strategy as, when the light removed itself from the glass and drifted away, there was no sign of the Doctor, and the floor had reformed itself. The Master was decidedly unhappy about this, and kicked the glass to show his frustration. Unfortunately, this drew attention from the light, which turned towards him. The next thing he knew, the glass the Master was leaning against wasn't there anymore. As he stumbled to the side, managing to right himself before he fell, he watched out of the corner of his eyes as the light moved slowly towards him.

*Muda'e Satimero Dialaen lebrawari?* _Are you a Time King also?_

"Um..." The Master glanced at where, a few seconds ago, the Doctor had been standing. He then gave a sly grin. "I haven't a clue what you're saying." He then, with considerable effort, put on a scared face. "Please don't hurt me."

The light hung in the air for a moment, studying him. Then it turned, gliding away from him. Just as the Master was congratulating himself on a job well done, the drums started up again. He hadn't even noticed they had faded in the presence of the light, but they were now beating loudly. The Master winced. Where was a distraction when he needed one?

Just as he thought that, the signal ripped through his head again. One word was echoing through his mind: Danger.

* * *

Lucy blinked as she stepped out of her cell. The man in the grey suit was standing behind the guard that had opened the door. As least, Lucy _thought_ he had opened the door. He was frozen, his mouth open in an 'o' of surprise, his hand outstretched towards the cell door.

"What did you do to him?" Lucy asked.

The man raised his eyebrows. "Do you really want to know?"

Lucy looked at the guard again, and shook her head.

"Good." The man gave a metallic smile. "I have a waiting ship. If you would..." he motioned smoothly down the corridor.

Lucy took a deep breath and moved out of her cell completely, feeling strange not wearing chains. She followed the man down the corridor, actually feeling bad for leaving her fellow prisoners where they were. But, she reasoned, they deserved this fate a lot more than she did... right?

The man in the grey suit opened a door ahead of her, and she moved through it. For the first time in months, Lucy Saxon stood beneath the sun.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

The man pointed towards the edge of the building. "My ship is there. It will take you away from this planet." He began moving in the direction he'd indicated, but stopped when he realised Lucy wasn't following him. He turned back. "What is it?"

"You're... you're taking me away from Earth?"

"Yes." The man in the grey suit nodded.

"Why?"

He raised his eyebrows. "I am taking you to find your husband, of course."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I couldn't decide on what 'Phian' meant, so I settled on it being simply a Gallifreyan swear word.

Review? ;)


	18. Same As Always

**Author's Note: **I am _so _sorry this chapter has taken so long to appear. I'm a very bad person. :(

* * *

As Jack lowered the phone from his ear, Ianto nudged him in the back. "What's happening?"

Jack sniffed, turning round. "Martha's coming up. She's coming from London though, so she'll be awhile. She didn't have the Doctor's number."

"So what are we doing?" the Brigadier asked.

"I don't know." Jack bit his lip, willing his brain into action. What would the Doctor do in a situation like this?

Before he could say anything more though, the Brigadier spoke up again. "Right! I'll get UNIT to mobilise. If there's a threat out there, we'll be ready for it."

Jack nodded, not really listening as Toshiko showed the Brigadier to a computer with a direct link to UNIT HQ. Ianto stepped up next to him. "What you thinking, Jack?"

Jack answered because it seemed natural. He was just thankful everyone was talking to him again. "Something's very wrong. The Master goes off with the Doctor, and suddenly this Collector guy pops up. Too much of a coincidence." He shook his head, looking worried.

Ianto raised his eyebrows. "If you want advice from me, I'm afraid you're going to have to tell me who the hell you're talking about."

Jack glanced at him briefly. He'd been around people who knew exactly who he was for too long to just slip back into the secrecy thing. He bit his lip. "Yan?"

"Mmm?"

An internal battle was being fought inside Jack. On one hand, Ianto deserved to know the truth, and Jack would get some much needed advice. On the other, he wasn't sure he was quite ready to tell Ianto who he was, and he certainly wasn't comfortable with everyone knowing.

Jack looked up to see Ianto turning away. He didn't expect anything, Jack realised. Dithering, on the edge of making up his mind, Jack reached out, snagging Ianto's arm. "Hey."

"What?" Ianto turned back.

Jack took a deep breath, checking no one else was around. Tosh was still showing the Brigadier how to work her computer, and Owen had retreated to his med bay, to do who knows what. "When I was gone..." He saw Ianto's eyes widen slightly, surprised that he was revealing something about himself. "I was with a man called the Doctor. You'll have seen references to him in the files."

"Nothing substantial," Ianto commented.

"I removed anything important... It was why this organisation was originally set up, you know: To protect Earth from the Doctor."

Ianto narrowed his eyes. "Is he a threat?"

Jack thought carefully before answering. "He would never directly hurt us. But indirectly, yes, very much so."

"Then why haven't you killed him?" Ianto asked.

Jack scoffed, shaking his head. "You could never understand him. Hell, _I_ don't understand him. He fits the "weird alien" category almost too well."

Ianto was looking worried. "So who's the Master? And the Collector?"

Jack suddenly stopped, an idea popping into his. "A bit weird," he thought out loud. "Doctor... Master... Collector..."

"Yeah, so?" Ianto asked. "They all have a really poor taste in names."

Leaning against the desk, Jack looked at Ianto, obviously thinking. "How much have you found in the archives?"

For a moment Ianto felt like saying "enough", just to annoy him. Looking at the serious expression on Jack's face though, he decided against it. "The Doctor's an alien, thought to be able to change his appearance at will. He's been recorded in and out of history, appearing at times where there have been great disasters. No one seems to know whether he caused them or not, because he's always disappeared shortly afterwards." He was about to add that the Doctor had once worked for UNIT, but clamped his mouth shut, knowing that Jack would ask where he'd found that out.

"Hmm." Jack was frowning.

"What?"

"Do you know the name 'Master'?"

Ianto narrowed his eyes slightly. The Brigadier had told him and Owen the name, but he didn't know any more than that. He decided on telling the truth, as Jack would unavoidably find out if he wasn't. "Yes."

Jack hummed for a moment. "Tell Tosh to keep looking for Harold Saxon, 'kay?" He moved away from the desk.

"Where are you going?" Ianto called after him.

Just as if Jack had never been gone, Ianto got no answer.

* * *

Rhys tugged at the handcuffs that were clamped around his wrists, looking across the floor of the ship-like thing he had been pushed into. Gwen was lying on a bench across a narrow section of walkway, still unconscious. The man who had taken them was sitting in what looked like a pilot's seat, on the other side of a metal grill to the right of Rhys. He didn't look like a terrorist, for that was what Rhys assumed he must be. He was dressed in a grey suit, sporting a red tie, and was tapping away at the controls. He looked like a bank manager; someone who thinks in numbers all the time.

The floor beneath Rhys's feet stopped moving suddenly, and he heard a dull thud. Glancing up, he watched as their captor moved out of the pilot's chair. The way he moved seemed stiff to Rhys, unnatural, like the man wasn't in full control of his body.

"Get up." The words were clipped out sharply, accompanied by a hand, hauling Rhys to his feet. The man's other hand snaked towards Gwen, roughly shaking her shoulder.

"Leave my girlfriend alone, you bastard!" Rhys twisted out of the man's grip, throwing a shoulder into his chest. It was a rugby tackle, and _should_ have sent the man to the ground. Instead, all it did was set Rhys's shoulder on fire. He stumbled backwards, barely righting himself before he fell.

Looking up, his eyes met those of the grey-suited man. They were cold, almost lifeless, and seemed to be staring right through him. Rhys swallowed.

The man nodded shortly and spoke. "You are of no value to me. You will not be paramount to her..." he signalled Gwen. "...cooperation. Neither will you have any effect on what the Captain does. You are disposable."

The last thing Rhys saw before he lost himself to fear was a gun, rising slowly up from the grey-suited man's side.


	19. Caring Too Much

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry it's been so long, everyone! I couldn't actually believe it when I looked and saw I hadn't updated this in so long. I didn't forget you guys though and how awesome you've been. I really hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

* * *

Martha slowed the car to a stop in front of a set of traffic lights, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel as the light stoically remained red despite no other traffic or pedestrians being out this time of night.

It was early morning - around 4am she'd wager - and she was winding her way through a small set of streets, looking for a place where she could park and rest for a while. Ever since the 'year', she hadn't been sleeping well and her eyes were drooping with tiredness.

Pulling into a cul-de-sac, she was surprised as another car pulled in behind her. Though she felt oddly comforted that she was alone on the roads; she didn't like being alone much now.

The feeling vanished however when the car came to a halt when she did, lights becoming brighter in the early morning air, blinding her so she couldn't see who was behind the wheel. Everything was still for a few moments before the car started to roll forwards again, picking up speed and heading straight for her.

She didn't allow herself time to think – if travelling with the Doctor had taught her one thing it was that thinking could get you killed – before slamming her car into gear and shooting forwards. She missed a low brick wall by inches and felt the bumper of the second car scrape the rear end of hers.

Wrenching the wheel to the right, she spun the car back the way she'd come, hoping that it would take the other too long to turn fully and she could lose them in the maze of streets. Maybe if there had been more cars, she could have, but as she made a fourth turn in an attempt to get away, she saw the headlights of her attacker appear in the rear view mirror.

"Damn it!" This sort of thing _did_ take her mind off everything else, but it wouldn't be much consolation if she ended up splattered across her windscreen.

Glancing behind her, she found that she couldn't see her pursuer any longer and grinned slightly. An open stretch of road opened up ahead of her and she floored the accelerator, feeling the engine of her car groan with the strain. It was at that speed, which must have been approaching 80mph, that the car reappeared to her left, barrelling out of a side road and continuing on, travelling straight through the side of her car and smashing the driver's side into a lamppost.

A few seconds later, both car alarms began to blare loudly, waking the people living on that street almost immediately. Stumbling from their homes, the complaints of several of the more verbal humans died as they saw the wreckage. Parents ushered their children back inside, pulling out phones to dial 999, while several other adults approached the crash site.

It is human nature to be curious in the face of devastation, but no one on that long street didn't have hope that there would be movement from one, if not both, of the cars before the ambulances arrived.

There was none.

* * *

The signal continued to resonate through the Master's mind, pulsing in time with the drums. Danger, danger, danger, danger! It put him on edge, wishing he could turn it off and return to the steady beats he knew so well.

He had to get back to Earth, had to do something about this before it was too late. He was disgusted with himself. He shouldn't care, he shouldn't give a damn about anyone but himself. He'd lived too long and died too many times because of other people's mistakes to justify caring about anyone. But he wasn't trying to justify this, he reminded himself. He'd given up on trying to justify himself a long time ago, when everyone who could possibly understand him either ran away or were left behind. Damn the world and damn the Universe.

But to get back to Earth, he'd have to get to the TARDIS. To fly the TARDIS without a week's worth of coaxing, he would need the Doctor. He'd have the find the Doctor, which would be no easy feat, seeing as the floor had swallowed him. But regardless, could he tell the Doctor? Could he admit that he actually cared without the Doctor either getting all soppy, which he could probably take, hopeful of his redemption, which would annoy him but not do much else, and... it would show the Doctor a weakness. Could he trust the Doctor to not take advantage of that? Did he care enough to do it even though the Doctor might use it against him?

The Master groaned and thumped his head against the wall. This was _not_ the way things are meant to go, he thought. I shouldn't care.

He pushed himself away from the wall and started to work on latching onto the Doctor's psychic signal. "Bloody humans," he muttered.

* * *

The Doctor struggled hard. He seemed to be held down by what looked like a thick jelly-like substance, which he couldn't quite identify. If he could just taste it, he knew he'd be able to manage it just fine.

Lights swirled around him, all seemingly going about their daily business – whatever a pulsing light's daily business was – and completely ignoring him. He took this as a good sign as it would allow him time to come up with a plan and possible escape. But not being able to move at all posed something of a problem.

At least now he knew that the Master wasn't just going to run off and leave him. Whether it was actual concern on his part or simply not wanting to be stuck with a TARDIS who wouldn't obey his commands, at this stage of the day the Doctor really didn't care. He was just thankful that there was even a slight hope of being rescued, a feeling that he hadn't had at all while stuck on the Valliant and one which was rather welcome back.

One of the many lights suddenly changed direction, wrapping itself around his right arm and tugging him through the mush that supported him. Since tugging his arm away didn't seem to do much, the Doctor relaxed, taking in as much of his surroundings as possible before being unceremoniously dumped on what looked like a hard marble floor.

Looking up, he found himself face to face with another wolf, fangs glittering slightly, reflecting the light still wrapped around the Doctor's arm.

The wolf looked uncertain and the Doctor felt sorry for it, despite what it had put him through. "Look, I didn't mean to hurt you like that. You just..." He winced. "Dug a little too deep, that's all."

The wolf shifted from paw to paw, looking away.

"Are you all right?" The Doctor reached out his free hand, softly petting the wolf's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?"

The wolf returned his gaze, head hanging dejectedly. "I'm sorry," it said. "I'm afraid they're going to have to absorb you now."


	20. Destruction

I know it's been a while since I've updated, so for any returning readers:

The Master is being kept in the TARDIS by the Doctor. The Doctor has received a distress signal from Judoon HQ, which is where the Doctor and the Master are now. They were both captured by beings that looked like wolves. The Master escaped, but the Doctor was interrogated making him relive him destroying the Time Lords. He has now been transported to be "absorbed" by the rulers of the wolves, the Lights. Jack returned to Torchwood with the Brigadier. They found that Lucy Saxon is still alive. A man called the Collector called Jack and warned him to not interfere in his hunt. A man in a grey suit rescued Lucy to bring her to her husband and then kidnapped Gwen and Rhys to prevent Jack from interfering. Martha is in a car crash.

Yeah... it confuses the hell out of me too. XD Translations of Gallifreyan are in italics. I've had to create much of the language myself.

* * *

The Doctor edged backwards slightly. "Do we really have to go so far as _absorbed_? I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to talk about this?"

Even though that never works.

The wolf took a step forward, eyes sad looking. "We tried. You refused to heed us."

The Doctor felt a little hard done by with that summing up of the situation. "I don't really call being kidnapped and tortured to exactly fall into the 'talking about this' category." He crossed his arms over his chest. "What you need to do is tell me who you are, who you're working for, how you know Gallifreyan, and what the hell you want. Right now," he added.

There was a sharp crack from beneath his feet, the marble floor suddenly becoming warm.

"Okay," he said, leaping to the side to dodge the rather half hearted attempt of the wolf to grab him. "Let's have a monologue." He rolled away. "I love those."

"Let's go with the easiest question. One-" He skidded slightly as he righted himself, quickly scanning the room for any possibly exits.

Unsurprisingly, there weren't any.

"_One_, you were definitely inside my head at one point or another." There was a louder crack and he had to hop from one foot to the other as the floor temperature increased. "Which personally I find extremely rude and you don't really have the right to make me feel guilty about defending myself."

Even though he did.

The wolf fixed him with a hurt stare. "You caused us pain."

"You caused me pain first," replied the Doctor, feeling somewhat akin to a child being told off on a playground.

The wolf seemed to consider for a moment before feinting to the side and charging at him. The Doctor ducked beneath the majority of its body, but was caught across the temple by a trailing claw. Raising a hand to his hairline, a thin trail of blood came away across his palm.

"And therefore, I would extrapolate that you discovered the language of Gallifrey from within my mind and, as that is quite obviously my first language - though, just so you know, _not_ the one I'm actually most proficient in - you communicated with me using it. Rather clever, I congratulate you."

The third crack sounded a lot close and was met by a slight whine from the wolf, who regained its equilibrium and rounded to face the Doctor again.

"Two," he held up two fingers, "I presume you are working for whatever got inside my head, which to me looked like a light." He thought for a moment. "Though that's probably not its' actual form, especially as it appeared predominantly inside my head and never actually left that one stretch of corridor when it did manifest itself physically, which it only did after having access to my vast intellect. Which _therefore _leads me to believe that it or they or he or she - or something similarly inoffensive to any aliens present who do not in fact have any reproductive organs - exists in a reality removed from ours in some way." He paused for a moment. "Oh dear, I do _hope_ it's not the Void again. That would be most inconvenient."

Unfortunately, the wolf didn't seem to be of the popular knowledge that whilst the Doctor was talking, everyone else in his presence must sit back and listen, and by no means make any attempt to interrupt, contradict, or kill him.

He _hated_ it when people contradicted him.

Thankfully, the wolf hadn't chosen that option. It slammed into his side, propelling him backwards onto the now painfully hot marble. He wondered for a moment if marble could melt given the right temperatures.

"But I wasn't _finished_," he protested as the wolf pinned him down and another crack sounded.

"It matters not," the wolf replied. "They are coming. And all shall fall beneath their magnificence and power. They are the beginning and end of everything we know, and you shall not stand against them."

The Doctor, feeling like he'd heard of this all before, raised a hand in what he hoped was a placating gesture. It was so hard to do when on your back pressed against what felt like burning coals. "I'm not trying to stand against anyone. I promise. I just followed the distress signal that the Judoon sent out from here."

The wolf snarled, all signs of regret vanishing from its eyes. "The Judoon are murderers! They do not have the right to exist in the same Universe as my gods!" One of its paws snapped up to press into the Doctor's throat.

"Yes," he choked slightly, hands trying to peel away the paw as gently as he could. "That does seem to be the popular opinion on the Judoon. If I've told them once I've told them a thousand times, customer service improvements would really diminish the number of species hell bent on their destruction."

The wolf went rigidly still as the heat beneath the Doctor back rose to unbearable levels before dying away.

Lights glowed from within the wolf's eyes.

"Mer diavas Larai'a gond? Plerk gonde gwainke! Vae'masis lae'zaz gond'mer! Elepsinhami!

_You dare speak of destruction? They destroyed everything. And now we will destroy you!  
_

* * *

Gwen's eyes flickered open, a dull ache pounding through her head as she struggled to get the world around her into focus. There was still a slight blurring around the edges when she felt able to sit up. Struggling slightly, she rolled over on the hard surface she was lying on, and came face to face with Rhys and another gun wielding madman.

_Another _one.

"Wait!" She tried to move her arms, but they were restrained behind her with what felt like ropes, harsh against her skin.

The man holding the gun calmly shifted his focus to her, gun remaining pointed securely at Rhys.

"I am glad you are awake," he said. "Do not be alarmed. I am merely about to kill your mate."

Any reactions that may have saved the situation were overcome by panic. "You can't! You-"

She was cut off as another woman entered the problem. She was blonde and dressed in rather dirty, old looking clothes. "What are you doing?" she asked the man.

"Do not mind me," he replied. "I require a hostage to ensure that the one known as Captain Harkness does not interfere with my hunt."

Gwen could see cogs turning in the woman's mind. She seemed familiar, but Gwen couldn't quite place her.

"You're hunting the Doctor?" the woman asked.

The man titled his head, fixing her with a penetrating stare. The seconds ticked by, Gwen desperately trying to think of a plan to get them all out of this alive. Jack would know.

Jack always knew.

The considering expression vanished from the man's face and he replied, "Yes." His eyes remained fixed on the woman.

She looked triumphant. "I can help you with that." Gwen finally realised who she was: Harold Saxon's wife. What the hell was she doing here?

The man shifted his grey suited form to face her. "How so?" His eyes were wary, muscles of his gun hand tensed.

"I know him. I know who he is, how he thinks, and exactly how we can use those two," she indicated Gwen and Rhys, "to set a trap he can't help but fall into."

The man smirked slightly and dropped the gun to his side, turning his back on Lucy Saxon.

"I can get us to the Master and we will help you to end him," she said.

Only Gwen could see the smile which came over the man's face.

It was a dominant, plotting, and thoroughly unpleasant smile.

* * *

**Note:** The only word not translated is 'Elepsinhami!' which is a phrase used to describe a strong emotion, so obviously doesn't have a direct translation.


	21. Tragedy

Apologies for the length of this chapter, but I found it quite difficult to write, despite knowing where the story's going. Thank you to the people who have reviewed and I hope you enjoy. :)

* * *

"Do something with this," Owen told Tosh, dumping a laptop onto her desk in front of her. "Neither Ianto or me can make heads or tails of it."

Tosh huffed at him, not touching the laptop as if it might infect her with some deadly alien STD. "You can do your own paperwork, I hope." She stared at him over the rims of her glasses. "I'm busy trying to trace the phone call Jack received and the outlet with which my system was hacked and shut down."

"Didn't Jack tell you _not _to do that?"

A frown burrowed her eyebrows. "_No one_ gets through my firewall." She returned her hands to her keyboard, tapping away furiously as lines of data scrolled down the screen. "No one."

Own smirked. "That's our Tosh. Just as shallow as the rest of us." As she opened her mouth to reply, he nudged the laptop again. "We need you to get through some UNIT red tape."

He could tell her interest was piqued by the fact that one eye flew to the laptop, even as the other stayed on the screen. "UNIT?"

"To do with what you were looking for before: the Doctor, where our fearless leader was, etc, etc." He waved a hand, opening the laptop and tapping a few keys. "This is what we have so far."

Tosh's eyes flicked to the laptop before looking away with a decidedly unimpressed expression. "It's a payroll."

Owen gave a frustrated sigh. "It's the payroll of a man who worked for UNIT with the Brigadier. Called himself 'the Doctor'."

She spun to face him immediately, her eyes lighting up after a moment. "It's a deluxe transindental circuit! And look! A cross platform monochrome memory bank." She grabbed the laptop. "This is _amazing_!"

"Um..." Own replied, feeling lost. "What does it mean?"

Tosh was ecstatic as she answered, "I have no idea!"

* * *

"Doctor!" For goodness sake, he was wondering around Judoon headquarters, screaming for the Doctor like one of his little companions, thought the Master.

Not that he even wanted to find the idiot anyway. Any minute now, he'd find the exit - which he most certainly _hadn't _lost in the first place - and he would leave. It didn't matter that the TARDIS probably wouldn't obey him immediately. She would obey him in the end and all other things were immaterial.

He would go back to Earth, finish his business, and damn the Doctor to hell. It wasn't exactly responsible to put someone who had long recorded issues with killing the people around him into life-death situations, after all.

As usual, it was all the Doctor's fault.

"Doctor!" he roared, fast losing what little patience he had left. "I swear, if you don't come out right now I'm never going to try to take over the Earth again!"

On reflection, there could have been better things to threaten the Doctor with.

There was a slight hissing noise from behind him. Whirling, however, he found there was nothing there. Again it sounded from behind him. Again, there was nothing there. He had a moment to blame the Doctor for this also before the drums rose to a crescendo and he doubled over in debilitating pain.

He was assaulted by a series of fast moving images, bonding together to make a jerky sort of scene before him.

_A man in a grey suit sat at a bank of controls, eyes fixed upon them. "We will find him."_

_Lucy stepped into view._

The Master felt a growl rise in his throat.

"_We will most likely find them both," she replied._

_The man turned to her, question in his eyes._

"_Harry was taken by the Doctor. He is his prisoner."_

"_Ah." The man turned away from her, displeasure flashing across his features. "You are, however, sure of our bargaining power?"_

"_Oh yes." She stepped forward, seating herself at his side. "If there's one thing I know the Doctor to have, it's mercy._

_The man inclined his head slightly, offering her something with one hand, eyes fixed again on the controls. A small yellow pill nestled in his palm._

"_What is it?"_

"_Something that will null all attempts by the Doctor to track you."_

"Don't," the Master hissed.

_After only a moment's hesitation Lucy reached out and took the pill, swallowing it._

The scene faded as quickly as it had come, leaving the Master shaking slightly as _his_ ability to track his wife cut out sharply, the drums flaring and then falling silent for a heartsbeat.

* * *

It is a great tragedy, to be destroyed from the inside out, by the things you have done. No one is blaming you for them, no one even knows they are there, but the small voice in the back of your head is raging. It is making you feel guilt. It is tearing you down and setting you aflame.


End file.
